


the sun is up, the sky is blue

by shhhhyoursister



Series: ncu [1]
Category: Druck | SKAM (Germany)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Recreational Drug Use, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn, except the dod, the camp counselor au nobody asked for, they wanted it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-10-18
Packaged: 2020-06-29 20:43:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 37,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19838161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shhhhyoursister/pseuds/shhhhyoursister
Summary: "He choked when he saw the guy who had been leaning against the wall, Hot Mystery Dude, was walking up to Jacob, shaking his hand and grinning a grin so beautiful Matteo almost combusted.Matteo had heard the expression “butterflies in the stomach” before, but figured the people who created it were wrong; he didn’t feel the gentle wings of butterflies on his insides. He felt like someone had poured bees down his throat and they were all trying to escape at once, any way they could."Matteo abruptly needs a place to live when his dad all but drops him off the deep end. He's not thrilled about Jonas and Amira's idea of him becoming a camp counselor--until Hot Mystery Dude walks in, and Matteo might have a reason to be thrilled after all.





	1. well, my heart went boom

**Author's Note:**

> well here we go!!!
> 
> ive had this idea for a while now and thanks to the dod ive actually started writing it!!
> 
> i hope you enjoy!!!!!
> 
> fic title is from "dear prudence" by the beatles, chapter title is from "saw her standing there" by...the beatles (sensing a theme????)

It all started, as a lot of difficult things in Matteo’s life did, with a call from his father. 

He saw his phone ringing while he had an almost finished joint in his mouth, having been puffing on it in a lazy (depressed) haze for some unknown amount of time. He was having one of his  _ bad days _ , the ones that had been popping up more frequently since school ended and all his friends continued on with their lives. 

He snubbed the joint out in the ashtray next to the couch he was splayed on and took a sip of the days old water that he found next to him before accepting the call. The high he was feeling made the switch from German to Italian more difficult, but he found it still rolled naturally off his tongue. 

“Hey, papa.” 

“Matteo, I have some bad news.”

Upon hearing that, Matteo quietly reached over for the joint and lighter again. He didn’t light it, knowing his father would hear the noise and start questioning him and then start lecturing and  _ then _ start yelling, and Matteo could absolutely  _ not _ deal with that in his state.

“Is… is everything okay?” He could tell that he didn’t sound sober, and cleared his throat and sat up more so his blood could actually start circulating again. 

  
“Not quite, for you at least. Things have gotten a bit rough around here, money-wise. I don’t think I’m going to be able to send you money for your flat next month.”

The words hit Matteo like a ton of bricks, sobering him up quickly so he could absorb the gravity of the statement. No money meant no flat, no flat meant... 

“Wait, so I’m just gonna be homeless?”

“Or you could get off your ass and get a job like I’m sure all of your friends have done.”

Matteo’s eyes slid shut, and he checked out of the conversation. He heard his father rattle off some more information, saying something about  _ university _ and  _ careers _ and other stuff that made Matteo’s head spin. He hummed during the pauses so it seemed like he was paying attention. 

His father ended the conversation with a  _ let me know when you get your life together _ , and as he said goodbye Matteo picked up and lit the joint. He breathed in until he could feel the smoke filling all the deep, dark crevices of his mind, and then exhaled, dropping the now finished joint in the ashtray.

He raised his hands to his eyes, rubbing until he saw stars, and then let them slide up into his hair and grab onto the strands. He let out a quiet but emotion-filled  _ fuck _ , before grabbing his phone again. He shakily thumbed in the only number he had memorized, lifting the phone to his ear as the other end crackled, and he heard a voice.

“Hey, Luigi! Me and the boys were-” 

Matteo cut him off with a soft, “Jonas.”

“Everything okay?”

“Um. Not really. My dad called, there’s kind of a big problem.”

“Oh, shit. I’ll be there soon, okay? Do you need me to bring anything?”

Matteo snorted humorlessly, glancing over at the empty baggy and the three dead joints in his ashtray, “More weed if you can.”

“I got you, dude. Be there soon.”

*****

Matteo stayed in the same spot for the 54 minutes it took Jonas to get there, only moving to click his phone so he could watch and count the minutes as they changed on his screen. He got up to let him in, Jonas striding through the doorway and taking a seat on Matteo’s couch before Matteo could even summon the words  _ come in _ . Matteo walked slowly behind him, settling down on the loveseat, his legs thrown over the arm carelessly.

“What happened, man?” Jonas’s eyebrows were drawn down, the concern clear on his face. He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. Matteo closed his eyes again.

“Did you find weed?”

Jonas chuckled, a sad smile on his face, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a joint. Matteo shifted, leaning forward to grab it, and took out the lighter that always seemed to be in his pocket. He lit the joint, taking a few hits before passing it back to Jonas.

“My dad called. He doesn’t have a lot of money this month, so…” Matteo shrugged.

“So? If you need money for food, or something, you know we could all help you out until you find a job.”

“Not just for food.”

Jonas made a confused face, before it faded into angry recognition. He scoffed, before saying, “What, he’s not paying for the place? Really?”

Matteo just shrugged again as Jonas got up, pacing around the room for a minute before settling down again, taking another hit off the joint. He passed it back to Matteo who accepted it gladly.

“What is he expecting you to do? He knows you don’t have a job yet! Even if you got one this second you wouldn’t have enough time-”

“Jonas, he knows. He just doesn’t care.”

Jonas ran his hands over his face, sighing. He never liked Matteo’s father, the man too brutish and impatient to care about his soft-spoken son. This was just another straw thrown atop a camel who’s back had broken years ago. 

“I,” Matteo starts, voice thick, “I don’t know what to do.”

“Let’s go over the facts, okay?” Jonas waited until Matteo was looking at him to continue, “You either need the money to stay here with Hans and Linn, or you need somewhere free to stay for the next month, right?”

Matteo nodded, his outlook looking bleaker and bleaker by the second. Jonas looked thoughtful for a minute, before his face perked up, sitting up and staring at Matteo with something like  _ hope _ in his eyes.

“What if there was a way for you to do both?”

“Dude, that doesn’t make sense.”

“It might. I’m gonna call Amira. I think I have a plan.”

*****

  
They sat quietly until Amira got there, passing the joint back and forth until it was dead. Jonas was the one to let her in and she breezed through the door, sitting on the table in front of Matteo, wrinkling her nose at the smell in the flat. He looked up at her through a haze.

“Matteo.”

He nodded and gestured for her to continue.

“How would you feel about being a camp counselor for four weeks?”   
  


Matteo laughed out of shock, wondering why his friends were deciding to make jokes at his expense during this horrible situation, before looking at Amira’s face and realizing that she was totally serious.

“Really, Matteo,” she put a hand on his arm before continuing, “we desperately need a male counselor for one of our groups. The camp is four weeks, you’ll get  _ paid _ , obviously, and it’s somewhere that will house and feed you. As long as you haven’t killed a kid, they’re going to hire you.”

Matteo couldn’t believe what he was hearing. There were so many reasons why he didn’t want to work at a summer camp, the first of which being:

“I don’t know fucking shit about talking to kids.” 

Jonas piped up from the couch, “Yo, digga, it’s easy! Just talk about Fortnite and shit, they love that.” Amira nods sagely.

“I’ve never played Fortnite! They’d tear me apart, dude.”

“Matteo, don’t you have, like, thousands of tiny Italian cousins that love you? I’ve heard you talk about them before.” Matteo shriveled slightly at Jonas bringing that up, reminding him of the conversation he had had in Italian earlier. 

He shifted uncomfortably before finally answering, “Yeah but I mean… family is different. They liked me cause I was old enough to throw them across the pool.”

“Matteo,” Amira started, adopting the  _ serious voice _ she only uses for  _ serious discussions _ , “the kids might hate you, but it’s more likely that they’ll love you. I’ve worked at this camp for a few years, you get used to it pretty fast. And if you need help, Jonas and I will be there! And a lot of other really great staff will be there, too. You won’t be doing it alone.”

“I don’t know. Fuck.” Matteo was starting to get annoyed, not wanting to have this discussion. He knew his friends were just trying to help, but he could feel his skin crawling more with every minute the conversation continued.

“Dude, I don’t want to sound harsh, but I don’t think you have any other options.”

Matteo felt his body go cold at the words. He hated the pitying tone of Jonas’s voice, hated being the friend that always needed help.  _ Poor, sad Matteo, _ he could hear them thinking,  _ can’t live with his mom because she’s crazy, can’t live with his dad because he doesn’t give a fuck, can’t live by himself because he’s too depressed to get off his ass and get a job. _

Amira and Jonas were quiet, looking at each other as Matteo sunk into the hole his thoughts were digging. He wanted to kick them out, but at the same time knew they’d refuse to leave, too worried that he’d go and lay in his bed and ignore the whole thing until it wasn’t his bed anymore. 

  
Jonas finally spoke up, “Dude, at least go in for the interview. They won’t hire you if they think you can’t do it. It really isn’t that hard, you’ll see!”

The hope in his voice is what made Matteo roll his eyes and spit out a quick, “Fine.”

Jonas and Amira smiled at each other and highfived, making Matteo scoff and roll his eyes again. 

Jonas helped Matteo call and set up an interview for the next day, and even offered to drive him. He and Amira leave soon after, each hugging him with reassurances that he was going to be great. Once they were gone, Matteo shot out a quick text, before throwing on a jacket and walking to his dealer's house.

*****

  
The interview went way,  _ way _ better than Matteo expected. They were nice, they seemed like they liked him, and were impressed with his (slightly exaggerated) tales of playing with his younger cousins in Italy during the summer. The head of the camp, Jacob, and his assistant, Laura, both shook his hand and offered him a job on the spot. 

“Wait, really? Are you sure?”

Laura smiled kindly at him, handing him a packet of forms and information, “You’ll need to go to a few trainings and the counselor orientation, but we think you’d be a great fit! We have a group of five eight year-old boys who don’t have a counselor yet.”

He left the interview, immediately grabbing his phone to text Amira and Jonas. They responded so excitedly that Matteo smiled for the first time in days, feeling ridiculously grateful. They all made plans to go to the trainings and orientations together, Jonas and Amira needing to attend again despite having each done it before, much to their chagrin. 

As Matteo walked home from the interview, he let himself feel happy.

*****

The trainings and everything went off without a hitch, and Matteo was starting to feel a little  _ excited _ . The people he had met so far all seemed great, were all around his age, and most of them fell somewhere on the LGBT spectrum. 

The only issue Matteo still had, really, was trying to figure out how the  _ fuck _ he was going to relate to five little boys.

Matteo, having once been a little boy himself, had a much different experience than most. Instead of playing with the other kids in his neighborhood or kids from school, Matteo would go home every day and clean the flat, or cook dinner, or try to deal with all the other adult responsibilities that had been placed on his shoulders far too young. 

The first friendship he had really formed was Jonas, who had invited him over to play video games once he had heard Matteo quietly say that he didn’t own any. Matteo had spent all afternoon at his house, and many afternoons after that, trying to make up for lost time.

That didn’t mean he knew how to talk to children, though. Jonas was right in saying that he had a ton of younger Italian cousins that he used to see- but that was years ago. Most of them were older now, and Matteo hadn’t been to Italy in a long time. 

The mixture of excited and worried nerves were swirling in his stomach on the drive to the counselor orientation. Amira was in the driver’s seat, Jonas in the passenger seat because he was in charge of the playlist, and Matteo was in the back with a random assortment of objects. He could see a football on the floor and started kicking it between his feet from his slouched position. 

When they finally got there, Jonas and Amira lead him across a bridge, through some pine trees, and past a few cabins, before they arrive at a big brick building that was slowly filling with other people around their age.

The only seats available were in the back row. Matteo said a silent thanks as Amira grumbled at their lack of seating choices, and the three made their way over to the seats. They sat silently, Matteo scrolling through memes on his phone, before Jacob got up and stood in front of the crowd.

“Hey, can everyone hear me?” He called out, a hand around his mouth, and everyone cheered back.

“Okay, then, let’s get started!”

Jacob went through some basic information about the camp and how it was set up, talking about the protocols and systems that were in place if there were any problems. Matteo listened sleepily, trying to pay attention but overwhelmed by the amount of information. He knew it was all in the packets, Jacob said that almost every five minutes during his presentation, so he knew he could go back and look. 

Amira and Jonas were next to him, Matteo having the aisle seat. They were paying rapt attention, nodding along and laughing at all of the dull jokes that Jacob was making. Matteo stretched his back over the top of the chair, head and arms dangling down enough from the low back that he could see behind himself. His eyes shifted around lazily, before settling on someone who was standing in the back.

_ Oh _ . 

The man was standing with his back against the wall, foot propped up behind him, arms crossed over his chest. He was standing next to Laura, the two of them quietly laughing at something Jacob said. 

Matteo couldn’t even see him that well, but the swirling in his gut had turned from nerves to something else, something he had never felt before. When he had his big crush on Jonas, he felt tingly and embarrassed whenever Jonas hugged him, or smiled at him, or acknowledged his presence in any way. Matteo didn’t even know this guys name, but  _ something _ about him made Matteo’s whole body turn to mush. 

As he watched, the guy’s head turned slightly, catching Matteo’s eye. At the same exact moment, Amira jabbed him in the side  _ hard _ .

“Matteo, what the hell are you doing?! Pay attention!” He shifted around until he was sitting normally, or at least normal for him; he was still slouched, arms crossed. He turned his head again to try and get a glimpse of Hot Mystery Dude, as Matteo had dubbed him in his head, but he wasn’t standing next to Laura anymore. He sadly shifted his attention back to Jacob at the front.

“Okay, I promise I’m done with my part guys, thanks for listening to me drone on about pool safety! Now we’re going to do something new. We’ve noticed that over the past few years, we have had more people from the LGBT community working here, and coming here for camp. We figured it would be a good idea to have a presentation about some LGBT basics!”

Amira nudged Matteo again and smiled; his friends had been thrilled when he came out, hugging him and loudly proclaiming their support, even trying to hook him up with their “gay friends” a few times. Matteo had always refused, not wanting to disappoint members of his own community with his lack of outspoken pride. He was proud of being gay, he really was; it was just hard for him to verbalize it, especially with his family not knowing.

He smiled at Amira, close-lipped and with no real emotion. Before either of them could communicate in their silent way further, Jacob continued talking.

“Something else new this year is that we couldn’t find a specific person to be our art counselor. Luckily!” (the frequent modulation of Jacob’s speaking volume made Matteo jumpy), “our dear, beloved sports counselor David Schreibner has offered to step up and do both positions!”

At the mention of this  _ David _ , the whole room started cheering. Whoever this guy was, he had a lot of fans in the room. Even Amira and Jonas were cheering, whispering excitedly between themselves once the room quieted. 

“And since David is the glue holding this entire camp together, he has offered to also do the presentation about the LGBT community! David, come on up!” Jacob started gesturing to his left wildly, and Matteo turned his head to see who this David was.

He choked when he saw the guy who had been leaning against the wall, Hot Mystery Dude, was walking up to Jacob, shaking his hand and grinning a grin so beautiful Matteo almost combusted. 

Matteo had heard the expression “butterflies in the stomach” before, but figured the people who created it were wrong; he didn’t feel the gentle wings of butterflies on his insides. He felt like someone had poured bees down his throat and they were all trying to escape at once, any way they could. 

Now that he was under the light, Matteo could make out all his features, even from the back row. He had dark hair, styled messily but perfectly, some strands flopping against his forehead, and his eyes were even darker, a deep, rich brown that got lighter as he smiled. They matched the darker color of his skin perfectly, and he almost  _ glowed _ in the bright white shirt he was wearing, black jeans tight against his legs, the holes in them showcasing more of the honey-colored skin. 

Matteo was instantly in love. 

He knew, deep down, that he was being ridiculous. He knew that love at first sight was a total myth, that love itself was difficult to come across, that there was  _ no way  _ a guy that hot would even look in his direction. The rational side of his brain was screaming.

However, the gay side of his brain was screaming even louder.

He didn’t blink as he watched David walk in front of the crowd, smile softening a little as he looked out at the group. His eyes tracked over the faces, smiling wider at some, before he caught Matteo’s eyes again. They shared a look for what felt like 800 years, Matteo blushing a deep red, before David looked away and grinned again.

  
“Hey everyone!”

At his greeting, the whole room started cheering again. David’s face lit up even more and he started laughing, and Matteo wanted to scream at the staff to  _ shut the fuck up _ so he could hear what his laugh sounded like.

David started talking again once everybody quieted down, and Matteo listened, positively entranced by the soft smoothness of David’s voice. He was glad he was gay and that Hans had given him a crash course in queer theory once he had come out, so he didn’t need to process every word David was saying.

He was able to sit back and watch David move around in front of the group, super comfortably, and talk about being trans and what the different letters meant, and how they all applied to camp. He would smile anytime David smiled, would laugh when he laughed and  _ oh _ , the sound of his laugh made Matteo’s head feel like a balloon that was being filled with too much helium, but in a good way. He had an infectious, positive energy that Matteo envied and admired at the same time. 

He talked for a while, everyone listening and nodding along to what he was saying. When he finally finished, people started cheering again, standing up and stomping their feet. He blushed so dark that Matteo could see it from the back row, causing his balloon head to pop off and whiz around the room. David offered the audience and awkward bow, rising up and laughing and waving as he started walking back to the wall he had been leaning on.

He walked down the middle aisle, and when Matteo noticed this, he froze. The path was going to take David right past him, he would be close enough to reach out and touch ( _ not  _ that Matteo would ever, ever, do that, though it was tempting). 

He shrunk further down in his seat as David neared, shaking hands and fistbumping random people in the rows that he could reach. Matteo could now see why everyone loved him.

When David got closer to Matteo, his smile faltered slightly and his gaze swung up, landing right on Matteo’s quickly flushing face. Their eyes locked, and David’s eyes pierced into Matteo’s brain and imprinted themselves in his head. 

David kept walking, his eyes not dropping Matteo’s. Once they were parallel, David standing about a foot away from him, the corners of his mouth quirked up and he  _ smirked _ at Matteo, before finally turning and walking back to the wall. In his lovestruck haze, Matteo missed the look shared between Jonas and Amira, both smiling in such a fond way that his heart would’ve hurt if he saw.

Instead, he turned his head so he could look behind himself again, to where David had been standing before. He was back, in the same position next to Laura, but this time his eyes were boring into Matteo’s own. He turned his head back as quickly as he had looked, wrapping his arms around his middle and exhaling out in a shocked  _ huff _ . 

Jacob took David’s spot at the front again, waving until everyone stopped chatting and turned to face him.

“Hey, guys, I forgot something important. We’ve had a few issues the past years with… let’s say  _ fraternizing _ between the counselors. We want camp to run smoothly, and that’s a bit hard if we have couple squabbling or making out in the cabins.” Everyone laughs at this good naturedly, “So, we are going to re-state our policy on that: we will  _ not _ be allowing relationships between counselors. Keeps things less complicated.”

After this was met with some nods and more cheers, Jacob announced that they would all be moving to the next room for pizza and socializing. Matteo felt his face heat up again. The idea of  _ socializing _ in the same room as David, as David’s smile, and laugh, and sharp brown eyes, made him shiver. 

He got up with Amira and Jonas, following behind them to the next room. He had his head down, arms still wrapped tight around his own torso, only unwrapping to grab a slice of pizza after Jonas. The three quickly found a corner to stand in, Amira and Jonas chatting excitedly about the summer ahead. Matteo ate in silence, his mind too preoccupied to follow the discussion. He stared at a spot on the wall, intentionally not looking around to see where David was. He didn’t know if he could handle talking to him right now, not after his head had flown off his body still circling the previous room. 

The decision was taken out of his hands, though, when he heard a silky smooth voice call out, “Jonas, Amira!”

He looked up just as David joined their little circle, grin wide and gummy, eyes bright. Matteo slid down the wall a little as Jonas and David did some dumb, complicated handshake before he turned and hugged Amira, all three of them talking over each other and laughing.

He did nothing until the attention turned to him, Jonas putting a hand on his shoulder and saying in a voice Matteo had never heard, “And  _ this  _ is Matteo.”

David’s head turned to face him and as his eyes met Matteo’s., Matteo gulped.

He was absolutely, without a doubt, utterly,  _ entirely _ fucked. 


	2. this boy, this boy, this boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Matteo,” David smiled wide and held out his hand, and Matteo grabbed it with trembling fingers. They shook, David’s eyes flicking down to Matteo’s legs before slowly scrolling back up his body, his grin turning into a smirk when their eyes met, “Jonas has mentioned you.”_
> 
> _“Oh, um,” Matteo laughed awkwardly, “nothing bad, I hope.” At the same time they both realized their hands were still connected, not even shaking anymore, just suspended between their bodies. They let go, and Matteo floundered for a moment. He crossed his arms over his chest, before dropping them again and clenching his fists. When he noticed David was smirking at him again, Matteo nervously shoved his hands in his pockets._
> 
> _“No, all great. I promise.” David winked at him, and Matteo had to stop himself from swooning back against the wall. As it was, Matteo may or may not have been relying on the wall a fair bit to remain upright. David kept smiling as he mirrored Matteo, sliding his hands into his pockets in a much more casual way._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey yall it me
> 
> i finished this chapter way faster than expected so!!! surprise!!!!
> 
> chapter title is from the song "this boy" by the beatles
> 
> hope you enjoy!!!! im having so much fun writing this!!!

“Matteo,” David smiled wide and held out his hand, and Matteo grabbed it with trembling fingers. They shook, David’s eyes flicking down to Matteo’s legs before slowly scrolling back up his body, his grin turning into a smirk when their eyes met, “Jonas has mentioned you.”

“Oh, um,” Matteo laughed awkwardly, “nothing bad, I hope.” At the same time they both realized their hands were still connected, not even shaking anymore, just suspended between their bodies. They let go, and Matteo floundered for a moment. He crossed his arms over his chest, before dropping them again and clenching his fists. When he noticed David was smirking at him again, Matteo nervously shoved his hands in his pockets. 

“No, all great. I promise.” David _winked_ at him, and Matteo had to stop himself from swooning back against the wall. As it was, Matteo may or may not have been relying on the wall a fair bit to remain upright. David kept smiling as he mirrored Matteo, sliding his hands into his pockets in a much more casual way. 

“That’s, um, good then.” Matteo smiled shyly, turning his face to the floor. He felt his hair flop into his eyes and he ran a hand through the strands in the front, trying to make himself look less disheveled. 

The silence was interrupted when Jonas cleared his throat, Matteo looking up at the sound with an obvious flush to his cheeks.

“So, uh, Amira, we wanted to go talk to Jacob, right? About that… the, uh, music thing? For the kids?”

Amira slightly rolled her eyes before nodding, responding, “Ah, yes. The music thing for the kids that you called me about yesterday. Do you see him anywhere?”

As her and Jonas started looking around the crowd, Matteo risked a glance back at David. He was staring at Jonas and Amira, an amused look on his face, his eyes flitting between the two as they made a show of looking around. Before Matteo could turn away, he saw David’s head shift just enough that he was looking back at Matteo. 

They both broke the gaze, blushed, and then jumped when Jonas yelled out a much too loud, “Found him!”

He was pointing at an area dense with staff members, but Matteo could not pick Jacob out in the crowd. Jonas yelled out a quick, “We’ll find you, Luigi! Bye David!” over his shoulder before the two slipped away into the crowd. Matteo stared at the place they had been, confusion clouding his face, before realizing that he and David were left alone.

He turned his head and saw that David was already looking at him, the smile that never seemed to fade wide on his face. 

“So,  _ Luigi _ ,” he started, smile somehow getting bigger, “have you ever worked at a camp before?”

Matteo ran a hand through his hair again before chuckling a little. “No, uh, I needed a job. I’ve never actually worked with kids before.” David hummed politely, and Matteo followed up with, “what about you?”

The rational side of his brain was yelling  _ idiot _ at that question, but David just laughed and went, “Yeah, I’ve been here a few years.” 

There’s a little bit of an awkward silence, both of them smiling at each other, Matteo trying not to look too awestruck. After a few seconds, David turned his head a little, looking at the people standing around them as if he was thinking about walking away. 

Before he could stop himself, Matteo started speaking, “So, um, I really liked your presentation. It’s cool that they asked you to talk about that stuff.”

Matteo had obviously said the right thing, because David started  _ glowing _ , his eyes lighting up and his smile widening.

“As a queer person, I just think it’s important that everybody here feels comfortable. We have a lot of queer staff and some campers, too, and after I came out there was a big push to make that stuff more open. I’m really glad they asked me to speak this year.”

Matteo couldn’t help but smile back as David talked, excitement and pride clear in his voice. He was beaming and Matteo was  _ melting _ . 

“Yeah, that’s really cool. You know, to see that. As a queer staff member.” He stumbled through the sentence, not sure about outing himself despite his mouth saying the words. He calmed when David smiled though, realizing that if he had planned on coming out to any staff members, David was his best bet. 

“Well, I’m really glad you liked it.” David’s hand came up to rest on Matteo’s bicep, squeezing for a moment, before it dropped back down to his side. Matteo could feel his arm burning where David had touched him, felt the imprint of each finger and the softness of David’s palm on his skin. 

Before he could say any more, someone ran up to David and pulled him into a very enthusiastic hug. Matteo stood to the side, watching them exchange some excited words before the person grabbed David’s hand, trying to pull him away. He tugged back laughing, making the other counselor stop so he could turn back to Matteo.

“Bye, Matteo,” he smirked again, “I hope I’ll see you around this summer.” He finally relented and let his friend pull him away, casting one more glance over his shoulder at Matteo’s shocked face. 

_ What the fuck _ , Matteo thought to himself as he watched David weave around the staff, trying to catch up with the hand dragging him through. He felt himself lean back more into the wall, letting his weight drop until he was sitting on the floor. He leaned his head back, ignoring the strange looks he was getting from the people around him. He could feel that his face was still flushed and the bees were back to buzzing around his stomach. 

He reached into his pocket and took out his phone. He typed a quick,  _ what the fuck where are you guys _ text and sent it to Jonas. Before he got a response he felt a foot kicking into his, and opened his eyes to see Jonas and Amira standing there with two taller boys.

“Hey Luigi.” Jonas had the most obnoxious smile on his face and Matteo wanted to reach out and hit him. Instead, he grabbed the hand that Jonas offered and was heaved off of the ground. Amira was smiling at him in a way he hadn’t seen before and he was not in the mood to try to decipher it.

“How much longer are we supposed to be here?” Matteo grumbled, Amira and Jonas both rolling their eyes. 

“Don’t be so rude, Matteo, we brought over some potential friends.” Amira gestured to the two boys behind them. One smiled in his direction, the other waving enthusiastically.

Matteo smiled tightly at them as the taller boy reached a hand out and Matteo shook it twice before letting his hand drop. 

“I’m Abdi, I’m the cook!” Abdi was smiling brightly, and seeing it made Matteo’s own smile relax, become more natural. He looked over at the other boy when he tilted his chin in greeting.

“I’m Carlos, and  _ we’re _ the cooks. Welcome to Camp Blackbird.”

Matteo mumbled a thanks as Jonas and Abdi started talking, checking out of the real world so he could go over his conversation with David in his head. He couldn’t tell if David was actually flirting with him or if the desperate part of Matteo’s brain was reading into things.  _ Maybe he’s just like that with everyone _ , Matteo thought to himself,  _ why would he be flirting with me, anyway? _ He couldn’t remember if David had spoken to Jonas and Amira like that, having been too busy freaking out over him coming over. 

“Yo, and then when David shoved you in the pool? That was fucking  _ priceless _ , dude.” He only started to process what Jonas was saying when he heard David’s name mentioned and he perked up, turning his head to Jonas. Jonas caught his gaze and smirked again.

“It’s not my fault that I beat him in volleyball, man. I love David but he’s so fucking competitive.” Abdi was frowning slightly at the memory.

“I think you earn the right to be that competitive when you’re legitimately good at everything.”

“Doesn’t mean he gets to be a sore loser! My phone was in my pocket, bro!”

“Yeah, and the same phone is in your hand right now. And your scream when he pushed you was hilarious.” Jonas turned to Matteo fully, fixing him with a sly smile and a raised eyebrow, “What did you think of David, Luigi?”

Ignoring the confused, “ _ wait why did Jonas call him Luigi, I thought his name was Matteo _ ?” that Abdi whispered to Amira, Matteo muttered out, “He seems cool. People like him.”

“Oh yeah, man,” Abdi said, “everyone loves David. He’s just such a good guy, you know? All the kids love him, too. He’s just fucking perfect.”

“Even though he pushed you in the pool?” Carlos said, Jonas snorting. Jonas sent Matteo a  _ look _ , a smug grin on his face, and Matteo sent him one back, hoping his face read  _ if you continue trying to get my hopes up about this guy I’m never speaking to you again _ . 

Obviously it didn’t because Jonas continued with, “Yeah, he’s cool. And he’s single. He’s into guys, too.”

Matteo closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall again. He shot Jonas his biggest  _ are you fucking kidding me _ look before he saw Abdi’s eyes widen.

“Oh, dude, you’re gay?” Carlos immediately elbowed him hard in the side, but Abdi continued, “that’s cool bro!”

“Oh, um, thanks?” Matteo didn’t really know how to respond to that. 

“Please ignore Abdi. He was in a tragic accident and lost the ability to think before he fucking speaks.” Carlos was rolling his eyes fondly as he said it, but offered Matteo a small smile. 

“What? Gay people are cool! All LGBT people are cool!” He was saying this a little too loudly for a work gathering, and the people around were glancing in the group’s direction. Matteo sank further against the wall.

He lifted his eyes to the crowd as the boys and Amira moved onto another story from the previous summer, all laughing too hard to notice that Matteo had checked out. As he scanned the crowd, he told himself that he wasn’t looking for anyone in particular. He knew he was lying to himself. As he had the thought, his eyes landed on David again, standing in the middle of a circle of people, telling some kind of story that was making everyone else laugh.

He watched David’s face, his mouth set in a smile as he spoke, his eyes bright. He was gesticulating along with this story, his arms waving around in the air in the circle. He finished a sentence, and while the group laughed, his eyes swung up, meeting Matteo’s. He smirked.

They held the gaze for just a moment too long before Matteo broke, his face heating up embarrassingly fast. He dropped his eyes to his shoes, ruffling his hair again. When he dared to look up again, David was gone, and Jonas was trying to get his attention,

“Luigi? Bro, people are starting to leave. You ready to go?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” Jonas smiled at him, softer this time, and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, leading him to the door. Matteo melted slightly into his touch, relishing in the comfort. 

While his feelings for Jonas were completely platonic this far into their relationship, Matteo still appreciated the casual touches that his friends would give him. Jonas would pull Matteo into spontaneous hugs, or just grab him and pull him into his side, or Amira would touch his arm, or kiss him on the cheek in greeting or goodbye. They weren’t much, but they were more than he got from anyone else. 

Once they got outside, Matteo took in a deep breath, letting the sharp air fill his lungs. The air was more crisp here, felt real, unlike the smog surrounding his apartment, and it felt good to breath it in. His lungs were usually filled with smoke, or the stale air in his own room, or the more polluted air outside of his school. 

As he was breathing, still being lead to the parking lot by Jonas’s arm around his shoulders, he caught sight of David once again. He was standing next to a gray, dented car, talking to Laura. He was leaning against the driver’s side door, facing her, a big, soft smile on his face. She laughed, touched his arm, and then pulled him in for a hug, his chin settling on her shoulder as he whispered something to her. She pulled away, slapping his arm with a laugh, before turning and making her way back to the building.

_ Well, I guess Jonas was wrong about him being single _ , Matteo thought to himself, a weird pang of sadness hitting his stomach. He was quiet the rest of the walk back to the car, watching solemnly as David got into the car and started it, suddenly peeling out of the parking lot. Matteo blinked, slightly shaken from his daze by the speed.

They finally got to Amira’s car and got into their respective seats, Jonas plugging in his phone and playing something calm and vibey.

“So, Matteo, what did you think?” Amira asked kindly, smiling at him in the rearview mirror.

“S’fine. Everyone seems nice. I liked Abdi and Carlos.”

“Yeah, they’re great, but stupid,” Amira said, as Jonas laughed, “I’m sorry that Abdi was an idiot about you being gay. I promise he’s not an asshole, just stupid.”

“Yeah, I got that. It’s okay. He was right, after all.”

Jonas and Amira shared a look that Matteo couldn’t understand before Jonas continued the conversation.

“I’m glad you met David, too. He’s really cool.”

Matteo rolled his eyes. “Yeah, he was nice, but I think you were wrong about him being single. I saw him and Laura by his car, and they seemed a little more than friendly.”   
  


Jonas and Amira both started laughing. Matteo blushed, feeling dumb for mentioning it. He had only said something to stop the looks they had been shooting at him all night, as well as the poined looks they continued to share between themselves whenever David or his sexuality came up.

“Bro, oh my god, Laura is his  _ sister _ , that’s so gross.”

Matteo let out a quiet  _ oh _ , his stomach unknotting. Jonas turned to look at him.

“It’s weird, ‘cause everyone hits on him. Well, everyone that’s into guys. He never reciprocates, and turns down any dates. He could have anyone at this camp, but says that he doesn’t want to break the rules and there’s nobody that he likes enough to hook up with. That’s fucking crazy though, David is into girls too and there are so many hot girls who work there.”

Matteo took in this information slowly, the undone knots in his stomach quickly stitching back together. Jonas seemed to notice that Matteo had lost the motivation to speak and turned the music up, singing along quietly. Amira drove, shooting worried looks at Matteo in the mirror that he didn’t return. 

When they dropped Matteo off, leaving him with a quiet  _ bye, Matteo _ , Jonas bumping his fist, he lethargically made his way up the stairs to his flat. He had started counting down the days until he moved out and the American student that Hans had found moved in. He was lucky enough to find a man (who happened to also be gay) who needed a place to stay for the exact amount of time Matteo would be gone, and Jonas’s family kindly agreed to keep Matteo’s things in their basement.

He reached the top, sleepily digging out his keys and unlocking the door. He heard Hans moving around in the kitchen, noting that Linn’s shoes were missing from their usual spot. He tried to sneak to his room but was stopped by a loud yelp from the kitchen.

He walked in, wanting to make sure that Hans was okay, and saw him standing in front of the stove, his thumb in his mouth.

  
“Oh, Butterfly, please don’t leave me. I need you to cook for me.”

Matteo smiled tightly, snorting quietly before turning to leave. Before he could reach his door, however, Hans asked, “How was the orientation?”

Matteo sighed and turned around to face Hans again.

“It was good. The people were nice. Some guy, um… “ he paused, not knowing why he felt the need to bring up David, before continuing, “Some guy gave a presentation about LGBT stuff. It was cool.”

Hans smiled at him, his lips widening over his teeth, his eyebrows raising, “Oh? Some guy, huh? Interesting…” His grin was starting to scare Matteo, who quickly gave the (completely true) excuse of being exhausted before heading to his room.

The second he entered he reached for the joint that he had rolled prior to leaving, figuring that he would need it after dealing with the orientation. He shoved the end in his mouth quickly, lighting the other with shaking hands. Once it was going, he took a deep hit, breathing it out his nose as he collapsed on his chair.

Once the weed started flowing through his body, his thoughts turned to the orientation. More specifically, his thoughts turned to David.

He started analyzing all of the moments that he could remember in his haze. The hot touch of David’s hand on his arm, skin soft but grip firm. The multiple looks after they had separated that made Matteo blush so dark he had to hide his face.  _ The wink. _

He let the joint rest in his lips as he grabbed his headphones, sliding them over his head as he pulled up one of his playlists. His day had been confusing and overwhelming, and he let the music fill his head and finally felt himself start to relax, melting back into the chair. He grabbed one of his pillows, clutching it tight in his arms as he rested his head on the back of the chair, letting his thoughts wander as his eyes slid shut. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ohohoh so we have finally met Hot Mystery Dude......and my fave boys abdi and carlos (shoutout to carlos for revealing the name of the camp)
> 
> next chapter we meet matteos campers and some more staff members!!
> 
> you can find me [here](https://shhhhyoursister.tumblr.com/) on tumblr!!!
> 
> again thanks to yon from the dod for betaing this/basically helping me write it (find her [here](https://chlouais.tumblr.com/)) and thanks to the whole dod for being rad and excited for this fic???
> 
> be well <3


	3. you and me, sunday driving

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“So, you guys like video games?” They all nodded, even Leo and Andy, their faces losing a little of the sulk they had leftover from the long bus ride._
> 
> _“I only like video games.” Leo said, and Andy nodded before yelling out, “Well, I only like video games and art.”_
> 
> _“I like everything! Especially music! But I also like video games! I like everything really!” Simon piped up, shooting his hand into the air to get Matteo’s attention._
> 
> _“So, do you guys, um… play Fortnite?”_
> 
> _At that question, all of the boys started yelling, talking over each other and doing various dance moves that Matteo recognized from random videos online. Matteo smiled, glad he found something they could all agree on. As the boys continued yelling, they finally reaching the cabin. ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im sorry this chapter took so long!!!! i had intense writers block but like...specifically for this fic it was weird but!!! here it is!!! this chapter is ridiculously long!!!!!! get ready to meet five absolutely WILD lil boys (sidenote: almost all the stuff the kids do/say are things ive seen done/heard from actual kids so......) hope yall enjoy!!!!!!
> 
> the song lyrics used were from "its the falling in love" by michael jackson because i am NOT subtle at all
> 
> chapter title is from "two of us" by the beatles cause its a great song

A few days later, Matteo found himself in Amira’s car again, except much earlier and with some black coffee and a sandwich in his hands from a random place Amria and Jonas stopped before picking him up. Jonas had handed it to him with a smile that was way too bright for so early in the morning, and he had just grunted in response.  Camp officially began the next day, but the kids were coming the Sunday before so they could get settled before all of the activities started. This meant that the counselors had to show up early to set up, and after factoring in the time the drive would take, they agreed they had to be on the road before the sun was up. Matteo was not pleased.

He spent most of the ride drifting in and out of sleep, his head bumping gently with the movements of the car where it rested on the window. When he was awake, he would take a sip of the coffee, or a bite of the sandwich, then fall back asleep until the next pothole. When Amira parked, he quickly drank the rest of his coffee, a few drops spilling out the sides of his mouth and dripping down to the collar of his shirt. He rolled his eyes, shoving the rest of his sandwich in his mouth after he swallowed.

And of course, the first person he saw once he got out of the car was David.

He was standing next to his car, typing something on his phone before he looked up, immediately seeing Matteo, which meant immediately seeing the new coffee stains on his shirt and his cheeks stuffed with food. David shot him a small smile with his eyebrows raised, before they both heard someone shout his name. Their heads whipped around at the same time, seeing Laura with her arm raised above her head. 

He smiled at Matteo one more time before grabbing a huge duffel bag in one hand and three backpacks in the other, swinging one over his back before literally sprinting towards Laura. Matteo could hear his loud, bright laugh, and closed his eyes until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Amira was staring at him, her head tilted and an expression on her face that said she had been trying to get his attention for a while.

“Are you going to get your stuff? The trunk is open.” She had a big backpack slung over her shoulder, and a larger suitcase in her other hand. Jonas was next to her, his suitcase trailing behind him and his guitar strapped onto his back, his free arm carrying a large bag of what Matteo could only assume were small instruments, as Matteo could hear an assortment of banging, dinging, and rattling when Jonas adjusted his arm.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts of David’s laugh so he could focus on grabbing his stuff. He had looked up what to pack for a sleepaway camp but still felt underprepared with his one backpack and small duffel bag. He grabbed them both, and followed Amira and Jonas to the campgrounds.

  
The sun had come up as they parked, slowly peeking through the trees and illuminating the small creek that flowed through the entrance. Matteo paused to look over the edge of the bridge they were walking across, noticing dozens of tiny silver fish flitting around in the water, and a turtle sunbathing on a rock placed right in a sunbeam. He smiled softly to himself before jogging to catch up to the Jonas and Amira, who were starting to walk through the thick pine trees to get to the main cabin. 

Once the three arrived, and had all greeted Jacob, they were sent off in different directions. Amira went off to try and find Laura, Jonas ran to the music cabin to put his bag and guitar down, and Matteo was told to find some man named Otto, who was apparently his head counselor. He trekked off through the trees in the direction he was pointed, passing a pool, some basketball courts, and a large fire pit before finally seeing a group of guys around his age across a bridge. Once he crossed and got closer, he saw that further into the trees were several small cabins.

As Matteo approached the group, he could see one man in the middle who was older than the rest and had a much less enthusiastic face. When he saw Matteo, he rolled his eyes and gestured for him to join the group.

“Oh, he’s finally here! Took your sweet time coming over, huh Matthew?”

Matteo sputtered as all of the guys turned to gawk at his red face, mouth opening and closing like a fish as he tried to gather the confidence to speak.

“It’s- my name is Matteo.” He said it quietly, and the man’s face got somehow even more irritated.

“Sure, whatever,” he tossed a pile of shirts in Matteo’s direction, “since you were late we only had these shirts left.”

“I- I’m sorry.” Matteo couldn’t believe that he had already messed up.  _ Great sign for the rest of the summer _ , he thought to himself as he moved to stand next to the nicest looking person in the group. 

“Now that we’re all here,” the man gave a pointed look in Matteo’s direction, who tried to hide behind the pile of shirts in his arms, “like I said, my name is Otto, and I’m the head boys counselor. You come to me first if there are any issues with schedules or your cabins, anything else go to Laura or Jacob. Like they said at the orientation, we have a medical cabin with a nurse if any of those issues come up. Other than that, you’re on your own.”

Otto handed out the cabin assignments, along with information about their campers and a schedule that Matteo could not decipher. As he walked to his cabin, the farthest one from the main part of camp, he made a note to ask Jonas how in the  _ world _ to read the spreadsheet like paper he had been handed. 

Matteo walked into his cabin, marked with a blue 21:21on the door that Matteo also didn’t understand, and put his bags down on the only single bed amongst three sets of bunk beds. He let himself sit for a minute, face in his hands as he took some deep breaths to calm down. He had been nervous enough just being at camp and being scolded in front of his new coworkers had made something gross and bad start stirring in his gut. 

Once his breathing was more under control, he looked through the stack of light gray shirts he was given, and saw that they were all different sizes, none of them correct. In his stack of five shirts there were two extra large shirts, one large, an extra small, and one that had the tag ripped off but looked like it could’ve been a children’s size. He sighed, running a hand through his hair before grabbing a random shirt off the top and pulling it on, huffing when the extra large shirt hung off his body like a tent. He took it off, changing into the large, which only looked a little less ridiculous. 

He grabbed the clipboard he had bought at the store and clipped all of the papers in it, making sure to leave the schedule on the top and the information about his campers second. He knew he would be flipping between the two a lot for the first week and wanted them accessible. He made his way back outside, not seeing Otto or any of the other counselors. He tried peeking into the other cabins, but they were all empty, so he started the walk back to where he thought the main cabin was.

Luckily, as soon as Matteo broke through the trees, he saw Amira with her own clipboard and camp shirt, standing next to Laura and laughing. Matteo made his way over, quietly standing behind her until Laura noticed him.

“Oh, hey! You’re Matteo, right? I know we met but I interviewed a lot of people.” She had a kind smile on her face as she stuck her hand out, and Matteo grabbed it with a small smile of his own.

“Yeah, I’m Matteo. Thanks again for hiring me.”

“Of course! We’re excited to have you here! You got glowing reviews from Amira and Jonas so I know you’ll be great!”

Matteo blushed at her kind words, thanking god that there was at least one upper level staff member that he didn’t piss off. Amira turned to smile at him, punching him lightly in the arm. As they were standing there, Amira and Laura continuing their previous conversation that seemed to be about pool schedules, the area around them began to fill with more and more counselors. 

He saw Jonas walking in their direction, his camp shirt on and a big smile on his face.

“Laura, the new music cabin is amazing! You guys got everything we need!” Jonas was beaming, and Laura beamed back.

“Of course we did, Jonas. We trust your judgement. It wouldn’t be as great if you hadn’t given us so many suggestions!” 

The three started chatting, Matteo falling quiet again as he observed the people around him. He was trying to pick out faces he recognized from the orientation, totally  _ not _ looking for one particular face with dark brown eyes and a wide smile. He didn’t see a face that matched that description (not that he cared because he definitely wasn’t looking for it), instead seeing Jacob walking in front of the large group, waving his arms. 

“Hey. everyone!”

“Hey what!” The group yelled in unison, startling Matteo so much that he dropped his clipboard. He bent down to pick it up, not noticing the smile Laura shot in his direction. 

“I just got a bunch of calls from the bus drivers. There’s a tree on the road they usually take to get up here, so they need to take an alternate route. We have a couple more hours until they all get here, so explore a bit! Get to know the camp better! Talk to the people who have been here for years! Just be back here by 2:00!”

Matteo didn’t plan to do any of those things. He planned to stick by Amira or Jonas’ side until his kids got there and then wing the rest. His plans changed, however, when he saw David step out of one of the cabins.

He looked  _ good. _ Yes, he was wearing the same camp shirt as Matteo, but his fit and he had the sleeves rolled up enough to show the swell of his biceps, the light gray of the shirt flattering against his darker skin. He had black shorts on that were tight against his strong thighs, cutting off right above his knee. His hair was pushed out of his face, one strand threatening to fall into his eyes. And Matteo could  _ just _ make out some black mark on David’s left bicep that had to be a tattoo. 

Matteo  _ knew _ he was staring at David’s arms in a way that was not appropriate, considering they had spoken one time and they were surrounded by coworkers, but he was trying to work out the tattoo. It didn’t hurt that the tattoo was placed in a good spot, hidden originally by his shirt sleeve, but exposed along with David’s subtly defined bicep. 

He was so distracted that he didn’t notice when David noticed  _ him _ , didn’t see the way his eyebrows raised and his smile turned a little mischievous, didn’t notice until David started actually  _ flexing _ a little. He was standing on the stairs that led up to the cabin, and he stretched his arms up (Matteo following them with his eyes), and let them drop behind his head, making the muscles pop a little. Matteo’s eyes widened before sliding to David’s face, seeing the smirk aimed in his direction and blushing. He blushed harder and looked down at the ground when David put his hands in his pockets and started walking toward their group.

“Yo, David, did you hear? They lost our campers!” Jonas called out as David reached the group, extending a fist that David bumped with his own.

David laughed brightly, “Oh, that’s fine. I’ve lost campers before, it isn’t the biggest deal in the world.”

“Jacob said they aren’t getting here until around 2:00, so we have a few more hours of freedom.”

“Oh, that’s actually perfect,” David’s tone changed, and Matteo looked up in time to see him take a set of keys on a pink, white, and blue lanyard out of his pocket, “I needed to run into town to get some more, um… glue, for one of the projects.”

Jonas gave David a weird look, before shifting his eyes to Amira. Her eyes were squinted as she stared at David.

“That’s interesting, David. You usually have the cabin overstocked a week early.” 

“Yeah, well,” his eyes shifted quickly to Matteo’s and then back to Amira, “I’ve been a little distracted lately. I also might need a little help getting the, uh, glue. I need a lot of it.”

Amira opened her mouth to respond but before she could Jonas put a hand on Matteo’s back and shoved him forward a little, exclaiming, “Oh, you should take Matteo with you!”

The force of the shove caused Matteo to stumble, David reaching an arm out to steady him. Matteo felt the same heat as before when David hand touched his arm. Their eyes locked as Matteo regained his balance. 

“Ha, um, what? Why? Jacob said we should get to know the camp.” Matteo had locked his wide eyes on Jonas, who was just smiling at David, both of them completely ignoring the look of utter  _ panic _ on Matteo’s face. He turned to face Amira, hoping she would have his back. She was staring between the three of them, her eyes still squinted.

“Well, to be fair,” Amira said slowly, “nobody knows Camp Blackbird better than David.” 

“You’re right, Amira! It’s settled.” Jonas clapped his hands together, “Just be back by 2:00.”

Jonas turned to walk to the music cabin, Amira following close behind, leaving Matteo and David standing there in an awkward silence. When they reached the door, Jonas turns around and yelled out, “And David, I know how you drive, bro. Please get my Luigi back in one piece.”

David laughed again, causing the bees in Matteo’s stomach to all fly into his throat, before yelling back, “Fuck you, man! I’m a great driver!”

Jonas flipped him off, David responding with a raised finger of his own, before he turned back to Matteo with a small smile and a quiet, “Come.” 

He turned and started leading Matteo back to where the cars were parked, through 

he trees and to the bridge again, whistling and swinging his keys around one finger. As they walked, Matteo slipped around to David’s left side, eyeing the black ink that was there. It was a simple outline, a clear depiction of one of the cabins at Camp Blackbird. It was well done, the lines straight and dark, and Matteo smiled at the thought of the camp being important enough to David that he would get a tattoo of it. It made him a little less worried about his next month at the camp. 

Once they reached the bridge, David stopped to peer over the side. He smiled softly and gestured for Matteo to come closer. When he looked over, he saw the same turtle he had spotted on his way in. 

“There’s been a turtle on that rock since I started coming here,” he turned his head and smiled at Matteo, biting his lip before continuing, “I don’t know if it’s the same one but I always hope.”

Matteo smiled back, looking down at the turtle again and seeing the tiny face turned in their direction.

“Well, he’s kinda wrinkly and old looking.”

“I think all turtles are kinda wrinkly and old looking.”

Matteo scoffed, before looking up again and catching the teasing look in David’s eyes, “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know you were an expert on turtles.”

“Only on this turtle.” David smirked at him before turning and continuing down the path to the car, Matteo following behind at a slightly slower pace. They walked in a comfortable silence, David occasionally turning to make sure Matteo was still behind, shooting him a smile anytime he caught Matteo looking at him (which was every time). They walked until they reached the parking lot. As they got to the edge, David stopped and turned to face Matteo.

“So,” he started, a small, embarrassed smile on his face, “I’m going to apologize in advance for the state of my car. I didn’t really expect to have company. She’s also just… a piece of shit in general. But she gets the job done.”

“She?” Matteo asked, as David turned and lead him to one of the first parking spots where his gray car was parked. 

“Oh, yeah,” David chuckled softly, “when I was first looking for a car, Laura told me that her only rules were that it was cheap, and that I had to name it. Some kind of tradition her and her friends have.”

“Oh. That’s- uh, cool.”

“Yeah, so,” David took a step forward and gestured towards the car with a flourish, “meet Michelle.”

The car,  _ Michelle _ , Matteo reminded himself, was just as David had said: a piece of shit. Being closer this time, Matteo could see the extent of the damage, the paint scraped off in places and a long series of dents along the passenger side. The rear bumper was scratched to hell, and one of the taillights was cracked. 

“Oh, um. Hi Michelle.” He felt stupid after he said it out loud, but smiled after he saw the grin on David’s face. David unlocked the car, and Matteo went to open the passenger side door, which let out a long creak and some clicking noises. Matteo stopped and glanced up at David with a concerned look. 

“Oh, don’t worry about that, she’s just saying hi back.” The teasing glint was back in David’s eyes as he said it and Matteo huffed before dropping his body into the seat. He kicked around a few papers and empty bottles of paint as David got in and started the car,  _ Michelle _ , and started backing out of the spot. The second David put the car in drive, Matteo realized why Jonas had shouted out his warning. 

David drove  _ fast. _

He drove fast, and once they got out onto the road, Matteo noticed that he also drove recklessly, one hand on the top of the wheel as the other messed around with the dials, turning on the air conditioner and hitting the eject button on the CD player.

“No aux cord?”

“Nope,” David said, shuffling through his CDs one handed while only half staring at the road, “Michelle came out in the weird period after CD players and cassettes, and before aux cords. I buy a lot of cheap CDs, but I also make my own sometimes.”

Matteo doesn’t know what prompted it, but as David turned his head to check before exiting onto a bigger highway, he asked, “Ever made a mixtape for someone? Or, I guess, uh, a mix-CD?”

David laughed at his question, before turning to Matteo with a grin on his face and replying cheekily, “Not yet.”

David turning away from the road made him panic for a couple of different reasons, and he was sure it showed on his face. He could feel the blush, could feel his eyes open a little wider as his mouth dropped open and he let out a quiet, “Oh.”

He also didn’t know how David was driving so well with one hand on the wheel, and his face turned away from the road. They had merged onto a busy highway, David quickly getting over into the left lane so he could speed up, and Matteo started feeling a little  _ nervous _ . His hand slid up to grab onto the handle above the door as David finally chose a CD and put it in. Gentle, vibey music started playing in a complete juxtaposition to how Matteo was feeling. Out of the corner of his eye David saw what he was doing and chuckled. 

“Oh, so you’re one of  _ those _ people?” David had turned back to the road but the eyebrow Matteo could see was raised and the side of his mouth was lifted in what Matteo assumed was a smirk.

“One of  _ what _ people?”

“You think I’m a bad driver.” David sounded offended, but the smile and laugh that came after the statement ruined his mock-anger.

“I think you’re a fast driver.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment.” 

“I don’t know if I meant it as a compliment.”

David chuckled again before saying, “I don’t know why people think I’m a bad driver! I’m fast, but that just means I’m more efficient. And I’ve never gotten pulled over!”

Matteo’s eyes widened again in actual shock, “Wait, really?” 

“Well,” David bit his lip, “okay, so I’ve been pulled over a couple of times, but I’ve never gotten a ticket and that’s more important.”

“How many times have you been pulled over?”

“That’s classified information.”

“Well, I think as a passenger in your car, I have the clearance to know that information.”

They were both laughing, until suddenly David had to brake as a car cut them off. Matteo scoffed, rolling his eyes at the shitty driver, but jumped when David slammed on his horn and started yelling.

“Oh come on, asshole, maybe fucking signal next time?! What the fuck, dude?!” He slammed on the horn once more, before sighing and gritting his teeth. His jaw only unclenched when he saw the way Matteo was looking at him, concern and something akin to fear on his face.

“Shit, sorry. I’m surprised Jonas didn’t mention my legendary road rage. I’ll try to tone it down a little.” He looked genuinely apologetic and Matteo appreciated it. He was not a fan of people yelling, even less so of people yelling suddenly and  _ so close _ to him, and he had felt the spike in his heart rate and the panic clawing at his stomach.

“Oh, um, it’s fine. That guy was a dick, feel free to yell.”

“Nah, it’s okay. Just because I’m an angry motherfucker doesn’t mean others need to be exposed to it.”

Matteo smiled, and then turned his head to look out the window. In the awkward silence that followed, Matteo bopped his head slightly to the music. It was a song he vaguely recognized, had heard it once when Jonas was playing one of his random playlists, probably too high to catch the name or any of the words.

“What song is this?”

  
David laughed, a gentle blush lighting his cheeks, and replied, “Oh, uh. It’s called ‘Marijuana.’ Jonas played it once I think, and it got stuck in my head.” 

“Oh, nice,” Matteo responded, smiling slightly, and before he could help himself he asked, “do you smoke?”

Before he could fully process the implications of  asking a  _ coworker  _ about their weed habits, David laughed hard and replied, “Yeah, when I can. You?”

“Oh, yeah. Probably too much.” He tried to play off that last part with a laugh, mentally kicking himself for revealing that kind of information so casually, but David just smiled and nodded.

“We should smoke together sometime. I ramble when I’m high, though, I’ve been told it’s annoying.”

Matteo smiled and blushed again, and looked at David’s smiling, blushing profile and softly said, “That sounds good.”

There was another silence, a less awkward one, where the music played and they both just listened, Matteo leaning his head on the window so he could watch the world go by. 

_ You're not like anybody I ever knew _

_ But that don't mean that I don't know where we are _

_ And though I find myself attracted to you _

_ This time I'm trying not to go too far, cause _

_ No matter how it starts it ends the same _

_ Someone's always doing someone more _

_ Trading in the passion for that taste of pain _

_ It's only gonna happen again _

“So, why did you decide to come work at the camp?”

David speaking startled him, and Matteo turned quickly to see the curious look on his face.

“Oh, um,”  _ How the fuck do I explain this without making him feel sorry for me, _ Matteo thought quickly to himself before spitting out a quiet, “the situation with my parents is a little… rough.”

“Oh,” David said, the corners of his mouth turning down as he turned to look at Matteo again, “I’m sorry.”

“Nah, it’s fine, really. Normal stuff. Just can’t really be around them right now.”

“Hm,” David said, before a mischievous grin formed on his face, “If you need somebody to kill them for you, I know a guy.”

Matteo laughed hard and loud for a second before stopping himself, turning to see a big grin aimed in his direction.

“You’re so fucking weird, man.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” David wiggled his eyebrows at Matteo, and then continued with a more sincere tone, “I hope you enjoy yourself, though. It’s really a great place. We all love what we do, and everyone there is there to have a good time.”

“Yeah, except Otto.” Matteo said before he could stop himself. He then immediately panicked, wondering suddenly if Otto and David were friends, if they had some ridiculous long history, if David was going to turn to him and tell him to get the  _ fuck _ out of his car and find his own way back-

“Oh yeah, fuck Otto. He’s one of the only people I don’t like.”

Matteo made a mental note to not shit-talk any of the other counselors around David, responding with a quiet, “Yeah?”

“Yeah, he’s an awful counselor, he’s only there because he and Jacob went to the camp together as kids. Nobody likes him, they’re just too scared to say anything.”

“He didn’t really....tell me what to do. I have no idea how to read my fuckin’ schedule, let alone talk to a bunch of eight year-old boys.” He had meant for it to come out joking, but his voice was too tight, and David hummed thoughtfully in response. 

“Well, I can help you out. I’m sure Jonas and Amira would be happy to as well.”

As they pulled into the parking lot, Matteo nodding along with what David said, they stopped short again. Matteo prepared himself for the oncoming yell, but instead, David let out a quiet, “ _ Shit,  _ okay,” and kept driving, pulling into a spot close to the front of the store. 

“What happened?”

“Oh, there was a bird in the way.”

Matteo was still smiling at that as they got out of the car, David tucking his keys into his pocket and holding the store’s door open for Matteo with an exaggerated bow and a, “Ladies first.”

Matteo blushed, doing a small bow back, before walking into the store, David trailing behind, eyes already roaming the aisles for what he needed.

They ended up spending more time in the store then they meant to. It had been going fine, David trying hard to locate the glue, Matteo grabbing random items and putting them back down as they wandered. The focus changed quickly, though.

Matteo had been looking at some lamp that was supposed to be in the shape of a cactus but looked more like a dick, when he felt a soft  _ jab _ in his side. 

He looked up in confusion and saw David standing a few feet away, a long, pink pool noodle extended in an obvious challenge. He was grinning, his eyebrows raised, and when Matteo didn’t respond, he  _ jabbed _ again. Matteo looked quickly to his side and saw the crate of the pool noodles and grabbed one, smacking it against David’s with raised eyebrows of his own, a matching grin on his face. 

They fought, ending only when a store employee yelled at them from down the aisle and David dropped his pool noodle and started running. Matteo sputtered, laughing along as he haphazardly put his back in the crate and took off after David. He found him a few aisles over, leaning against a shelf and giggling quietly as Matteo caught up. 

“You good?” he teased, noticing Matteo’s heavier breathing and hunched posture.

“Shut up, dude, we can’t all be fuckin’ cool muscular sports counselors.”

“Oh, you think I’m cool and muscular?” Matteo looked up and saw David flexing again, this time in a much more obnoxious exaggerated way. Matteo blushed and rolled his eyes, standing up and shoving David’s shoulder.

“No, I think you’re an asshole.”

David laughed before shoving Matteo back softly and turning to head down another aisle. They found the glue there, David handing Matteo a few bottles before grabbing some of his own and leading Matteo back to the cashier. 

As they left the store, Matteo holding the door open on the way out and smiling at David’s accompanying bow, Matteo realized that that was the first time, in a  _ long _ time, where he had been able to have fun with anyone other than Jonas or Amira. He and David got along effortlessly, as if they had known each other for years, bantered and joked and teased so naturally that Matteo didn’t even have the time to overthink. Talking to David felt  _ good. _

They got back in the car, David switching out the CD before they started driving. Something softer than before started playing through the speakers, something that made Matteo’s head fall against the window again and his eyes droop until they were closed.

“You can sleep, if you want. I’ll get us back safe.” 

Matteo looked over at David’s words and saw a small, concerned smile on David’s face. The look was so genuine, so soft and calming that instead of being embarrassed like he normally would, he just smiled sleepily in David’s direction and whispered, “Okay.”

*****

When Matteo opened his eyes again, it was to a gentle hand shaking his shoulder, the fleeting feeling of a hand in his hair, and a quiet, “Hey, we’re back.”

He blinked his eyes a few times, rubbing a hand over his face before looking up at David.

The sun was coming in through the window facing him, illuminating his face and making his hair shine in the light. He was smiling, the same soft one he had when he had told Matteo it was okay to sleep, and Matteo smiled back. He ran a hand through his hair a few times before sitting up, stretching his arms up and his legs out.

“Good nap?”

“Yeah, actually. Surprised we made it back in one piece.”

“Fuck you.”

They bantered like that on the way back to the camp, hands carrying bags of glue. Matteo kicked his foot out to try and trip David, who dodged him and kicked his own leg out, making Matteo stumble. 

Once they reached the campsite, they quickly ran into Amira and Jonas coming out of the music cabin, matching serious looks on their faces. They perked up when they saw Matteo and David and ran over to say hi.

“I’m going to go put this stuff down,” David said after greeting the two, and turned to Matteo, saying, “That was fun. If I ever need someone to run an errand with me again I’ll find you first.”

Daid smiled,  _ winked _ , and grabbed the bags out of Matteo’s stunned, unmoving hands before running to the art cabin. 

He shook the shock off of his face before turning to Jonas, who was grinning at him. Amira was staring after David with a look Matteo couldn’t discern on her face, before she turned back to him with a smile.

“So, what do you think of David?”

“Oh, uh, you know,” Matteo stuttered, his mind flitting through thousands of words that he absolutely should  _ not _ say, before blushing and settling on, “he’s cool.”

*****

It was about half an hour later that Jacob called to the crew that had been slowly gathering, “Okay, the busses are here! The kids have their bunk assignments so hold up the sign with your cabin number, and they’ll find you!”

Matteo stood next to Amira, worry starting to set in, as hordes of young children started running in through the trees from some unknown location. A group of girls all came up to Amira, hugging her and yelling before moving on to find their counselor. Amira was smiling wide after them as she turned to Matteo, saying, “Those were my campers from last year. I missed them, they got so big!”

Matteo was going to respond but before he could, a little blond boy ran at him yelling, “Are you Matteo?!”

Before he could respond, the kid slammed into him, wrapping his arms around Matteo’s middle and squeezing tight. As he stuttered, he saw four other boys walking in their direction.

The blond boy pulled away, fixing the large glasses that had slid down his face before stepping back and offering a tiny hand out to Matteo, “I’m Simon! This is my third summer and I’m eight years old and I like art and music and climbing and-” 

Before he could continue, he was cut off by a shorter boy with dark hair, who loudly said, “I’m Leo, and I want to go home.”

“Oh, uh, hi, um, I’m sorry?” Matteo replied to Leo while shaking Simon’s hand, his entire body being shaken by the enthusiasm of the little boy.

One of the other three that hadn’t spoken yet stepped forward, offering a fist that Matteo bumped gently with his own, “I’m Andy, I was here last year. I only like art.”

“I’m Julien, but don’t call me that or I’ll punch you. And that’s Gabriel, don’t call him that or I’ll punch you. Call us Jules and Gabe.” At the mention of his name, Gabe dabbed, and then him and Jules started flossing while staring intensely into each other’s eyes, ignoring the confused look on Matteo’s face.

“Oh,” Matteo said, his brain quickly trying to absorb all the information that had been shouted at him, “Okay. Leo, Andy, Simon, Jules, Gabe. Easy. Do you guys… want to go find our cabin?”

Leo, Andy, and Jules nodded, Gabe dabbed again, and Simon started nodding wildly, his glasses bouncing. Matteo nodded back at them, before turning and gesturing for them to follow once he saw the other counselors doing the same. 

The walk to the cabin felt longer with the five little boys there, three of them chasing each other, running circles around Matteo, while the other two walked quietly beside him. He heard Jules mention something about video games and started listening closer, trying to find a way to bond with them.

“So, you guys like video games?” They all nodded, even Leo and Andy, their faces losing a little of the sulk they had leftover from the long bus ride.

“I  _ only _ like video games.” Leo said, and Andy nodded before yelling out, “Well, I  _ only _ like video games and art.”

“I like everything! Especially music! But I also like video games! I like everything really!” Simon piped up, shooting his hand into the air to get Matteo’s attention.

“So, do you guys, um… play Fortnite?”

At that question, all of the boys started yelling, talking over each other and doing various dance moves that Matteo recognized from random videos online. Matteo smiled, glad he found something they could all agree on. As the boys continued yelling, they finally reaching the cabin.

They all started unpacking their stuff, setting their beds up and putting their clothes in the right spots. Matteo looked at his schedule, noticing that all the activities started the next day (or he thought they did, he still couldn’t read the damn thing), and started panicking.  _ What the fuck do I do with them until dinner? And what about after? What if they all start fighting, Leo and Andy don’t want to be here, I’m sure I’m not gonna make it any better for them _ -

His thoughts were cut off when Simon helpfully announced, “Hey, we should sit on the benches outside the art cabin! We have time before dinner, right Matteo?”

“Uh, yeah, dude. It’s only a little after 2:00. Do the rest of you want to do that?”

  
All the boys shouted their agreement, Jules scurried down the ladder from his top bunk while Gabe leapt from his, landing hard on the ground. 

“Oh, sh- jeez, you okay?”

“Yeah, of course. I’m a lacrosse player.”

Matteo nodded at that flawless logic, leading the boys back through the trees to the benches. He saw other counselors with their groups, each sitting in an area alone, and was glad that he was doing the right thing. He had a steady stream of panicky thoughts drifting through his head, worried about his schedule, the boys liking him, and his ability to survive for a month without weed or alcohol, but the thoughts stopped when he heard his boys arguing.

“No, dude, Luigi is  _ way  _ better, he has that one move where-”

“But he’s just the stupid brother, the games are named after Mario, he’s obviously-”

“But guys Bowser is the best ‘cause he’s really cool and he’s a big turtle!”

“You’re wrong! Luigi is the best!”

“Ya know, my friends call me Luigi.”

At his statement, the boys stopped, all looking up at him with matching looks of interest.

“Why?” Simon broke the silence, squinting up at Matteo through his glasses.

  
“Oh, um,” Matteo didn’t know how to explain the years old inside joke to the boys, so he stuttered before saying, “because I always play him in Mario Kart?”

The boys started talking excitedly again, yelling over each other to mention who they played in different games, before the door to the art cabin opened and David stepped out. He smiled when he noticed the boys sitting on the benches and Matteo standing close by.

“Hey, boys! Welcome back to camp!”

All of the kids let out a loud yell of “DAVID!” before running over, almost knocking David over in their enthusiasm. He was laughing, patting them all on the back and commenting on how tall they were, complimenting Simon’s glasses (which were  _ very _ new, Simon was excited to say), and asking them questions about their year.

Matteo watched them interact, taking note of the way David was talking to them, and the level of comfort they all already seemed to have with him. They were jumping around him, each one trying to get his attention. Simon grabbed one of David’s arms, Jules grabbing the other, and David’s head was swiveling around following the conversations. He was somehow having five at once, was able to respond to one kid while listening to another and glancing over when Gabe yelled for him to so David could see his flossing skills. 

  
In the middle of the chaos, Matteo was feeling a little overwhelmed. It was hard not to, considering his kids were not the only ones around (but were by far the loudest), and his ears were starting to ring, his head going a little fuzzy as he tried to take everything in.

David must have noticed his silence, and looked up at him with a huge grin. It got smaller when he saw Matteo’s face, turned more worried, before he cocked his head to the side in an obvious gesture of,  _ are you okay? _

Matteo nodded, shaking his head again and letting his thoughts clear as David smiled wide again, turning back to the boys. He was going to need to sort his shit out  _ fast _ , could not afford to shut down when there were five little boys relying on him. He joined in the conversation again, which had turned back to video games. The boys were asking David his favorite Nintendo character, and David smiled softly before looking Matteo directly in the eyes.

“I think my favorite is Luigi.”

*****

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly. They went to the dining hall, Jacob making some announcements and going over the rules before they were sent up by age to eat, Matteo grabbing a tray of whatever they were eating. It looked… suitable, some kind of chicken with roasted potatoes and a small salad. He caught sight of Abdi and Carlos in the kitchen, standing close together and whispering, waving occasionally at kids that recognized them or counselors that nodded in their direction. 

Once Matteo’s boys finished eating, they were all exhausted so they went back to the cabin, the boys getting changed and in their beds in record time. They whispered and giggled until they fell asleep one by one, Simon the last one awake, quietly talking to himself until his voice got lower, finally fading into gentle snores.

Matteo was lying in his bed, in a mixture of panic and wonderment. He was thinking about the earlier half of his day, how comfortable and happy and  _ free _ he had felt with David. He knew what he was feeling and it was something that he had tried to ignore for most of his life. The bees in his belly, the tingling of his fingers and the heat anytime David touched his skin; it was pretty obvious. He was falling for him, and that was not good.

It was not good, and Matteo forgot about that fact until he heard echoed in his mind, “ _ We will not be allowing relationships between counselors.” _

He sighed quietly, rubbing a hand over his face before turning onto his stomach, an arm sliding under his pillow to clutch it tight to his body. Instead of feeling the crisp sheets, however, his hand hit something, and he grabbed it and pulled it out.

It was a piece of light blue construction paper, with thick black writing at the top that said  _ David’s Camp Tips (because Otto is an asshole) _ .

He smiled, reading through the list, knowing that he was too shocked to actually process what it was saying. His eyes were darting around the page, trying to commit the handwriting to memory. It was only when his eyes drifted down that he noticed that one corner was folded and when he pulled it back, he gasped.

It was a small doodle of a turtle, standing on its back legs, holding a cane and with a long beard. The wrinkles on his head were pronounced, and underneath it said  _ I think you were right by the way _ . 

Matteo clutched the note to his chest, flushing a deep red, before he shoved it back under his pillow quickly. He shut his eyes, put his head back against the pillow, and felt all of the adrenaline from the day drain out of his system, leaving him exhausted and ready to sleep.

His last thought before he finally drifted off was  _ God, I’m so fucked. _

  
  
  
  



	4. and your bird can sing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _They got to the cabin, the boys running ahead and bursting through the door, yelling David’s name. As Matteo approached the door he heard David laugh. He closed his eyes and took a breath before continuing into the cabin._
> 
> _“And where’s your counselor, did Matteo just set you loose to wreak havoc on my carefully compiled art supplies?” As David finished the sentence, a big smile on his face, he glanced up and saw Matteo. His smile got a little smaller, softer, and Matteo felt the greeting that was on the tip of his tongue disappear._
> 
> _David’s shirt sleeves were rolled up again, exposing the muscles in his arms and the tattoo on his bicep. He was wearing dark green shorts that were tight against his legs, and no shoes. Matteo looked up with a blush when he realized that he had basically just checked David out, and saw that David’s lips were pursed, holding back a smile. ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone again i am so sorry this took so long but ya know, people have lives!!!! and like ive been saying for a while, now that me and my editor are back at school the updates are probably going to be more spread out. ive got an outline of the entire next chapter (that i think yall are gonna like) and im going to work on outlining the rest, but i love you all!!!!! youre the best!!!!!!!! im so glad youre enjoying my work enough to ask about it!!!!
> 
> title of this chapter is from "and your bird can sing" by the beatles :)

Matteo woke up the next morning, Monday, lying on his stomach with one hand tucked under his pillow. He pushed himself up and looked around the cabin, making sure that all of the boys were still sleeping before he pulled out the piece of paper again.

He rubbed at his eye with one fist as he clenched the camp tips in his hand and tried to concentrate on actually reading them instead of just staring at the page in a state of wonderment. He quickly realized that he needed to copy them down on a different piece of paper; he couldn’t risk the distraction of David’s handwriting and the doodle at the bottom of the page.

He slid out of his bed quietly to do just that, sloppily writing the tips down and clipping the new page into his clipboard before carefully putting the original piece of construction paper back under his pillow. He grabbed clothes, including the same large shirt he had worn the day before, and changed quickly before checking his schedule. He had woken up with just enough time to get the boys up for breakfast and he stood in the middle of the cabin for a few moments, trying to figure out how to wake them up. 

An idea struck him quickly, and he grabbed his phone and pulled up a random song from the  _ Super Mario Galaxy _ soundtrack, and started playing it. Simon’s head popped up immediately, his blonde hair going in all different directions. 

“GOOD MORNING!”

Matteo couldn’t tell if it was Simon’s yell or the music that woke the other boys, but soon they were all changed and on their way out of the cabin. Simon was walking right next to Matteo and was loudly talking about a dream he had that involved the camp being taken over by dogs. Matteo was nodding along while also checking his schedule and making sure the boys behind them were keeping up. Jules and Gabe were a couple feet behind them, both alternating between yawning and rubbing their eyes. Andy and Leo were a little farther behind, whispering to each other and not looking happy. Matteo was starting to worry about them, he knew that they weren’t excited to be there (he could kind of relate if he was being completely honest), but he didn’t want them to have a bad time. 

“So, uh,” Matteo started, tripping slightly over a rock as he looked at his schedule, “after breakfast we have art, and then after that is lunch?”

The boys in the back perked up at the mention of art and quickened their pace so they were walking alongside Matteo and Simon.

“We have art with David! I love David! He’s my favorite person here, I hate everyone else!” 

It was the most Matteo had heard Andy speak, but he frowned when he heard the end of the sentence. Before he could say something, Simon started yelling again.

“Andy, that is  _ not _ nice to say! Everyone at camp is your friend and you can’t hate your friends!”

“Yeah, Andy! You’re a fart-head!” Gabe called from behind them, and Andy turned around and glared at him and Jules who was nodding beside him. Before Matteo knew what was happening, all five boys were arguing and calling each other names.

“Hey, guys, stop! This isn’t okay! Boys!” At his raised voice, they all looked up, four tiny faces filled with more rage than Matteo expected. Instead of looking angry, Simon looked sad, a small frown on his face. 

Matteo stood back, facing all of the boys. His heart was pounding, he hadn’t been expecting conflict like this so early. 

“Okay, um,” He said, taking a deep breath before continuing, “Andy, it isn’t nice to say you hate everyone. You don’t have to like everyone, but you need to be nice to them, at least. And we are not going to call each other names, ever. That’s not cool.”

“But what if Andy is really being a fart-head?” Jules said this in a voice that Matteo took to mean he was asking honestly. He ignored the glare that Andy shot him, before thinking about what to say next. He glanced down at his clipboard, beginning to panic, before he noticed the camp tips. He scanned them quickly and then looked back up at the boys.

“Okay, so if someone in the group says something you don’t like, instead of calling them a name, you can tell me. And we can, um, talk about why it upset you and what we can do to fix it. Okay?” 

The boys all nodded slowly, Simon raising a fist to rub at his eyes under his glasses. Matteo nodded back at them and turned and started walking towards the main part of the camp. Simon took a few long steps and walked next to him, silently sliding a hand into Matteo’s. He looked down quickly and saw that Simon had his face turned to the ground. 

Matteo wouldn’t say that he was the most empathetic person. He felt it, for sure, was able to sympathize when someone was going through a rough time. He just wasn’t the best at helping. He especially didn’t know how to help a sad eight year-old, so instead of saying anything, he squeezed the tiny hand in his and smiled softly when Simon looked up at him. He quickly thought back to the paper tucked in his clipboard, and turned his head to address all the boys.

“What do you guys think is gonna be for breakfast?”

They all started yelling again, in much higher spirits than before. By the time they got in line to get their food, Simon was smiling again and hopping excitedly when he saw that his guess was on the menu. 

Abdi and Carlos spotted him quickly once his group got to the counter, and reached over to hand him a mug of coffee with his breakfast. 

“First day, you’re really going to need this, man.” Abdi smiled wide at him as he handed Leo his tray. 

“Yeah, man, actually… “ Carlos reached over and shoved a second mug in his direction.

“Bro, he can’t carry all that! He can just come back when he’s done with the first one!”

“Oh, sh- I mean, dang, dude,” Carlos caught himself before he cursed, looking down at Matteo’s already very full hands, “you’re right. Just come back, man, we’ll keep you awake for sure.”

“Oh, uh, thanks guys.” Matteo smiled at the two tall boys before he turned and went to grab a place with his boys. Soon after, Jacob stood at the podium that was set in front of all the tables, Laura grinning next to him. 

“Hey everyone!”

“HEY WHAT?!” The entire camp screaming in unison made Matteo cover his ears, and he noticed Jules and Leo doing the same as they yelled back at Jacob.  _ Okay, so, that’s a thing that happens _ , Matteo thought to himself. He would have to get used to that fast. 

Jacob had a whole spiel prepared, going over rules and other things that all the campers needed to know. Matteo listened vaguely, getting up to get more coffee when he noticed other counselors doing the same. He glanced around as Abdi filled his coffee, frowning a little when he didn’t see the person he  _ totally _ wasn’t looking for. 

“Uh, dude? You’re good.”

He looked up with a start and saw Abdi staring at him with a confused smile on his face. He smiled back quickly before turning and walking back to his group. He noticed the time and downed the coffee, being careful to not get it all over himself (again). The boys finished up just as the other counselors started getting up, and Matteo quickly lead them to the area where they put their dirty trays and started leading them to the art cabin.

As they got closer, Matteo felt his pulse quickening. Art meant David, meant almost two hours with David. He tried to keep himself calm and in check, knowing that they weren’t going so Matteo could fawn over him like a lovestruck idiot. They were coworkers, they were in a professional environment, and Matteo wished it was any other situation. 

They got to the cabin, the boys running ahead and bursting through the door, yelling David’s name. As Matteo approached the door he heard David laugh. He closed his eyes and took a breath before continuing into the cabin.

“And where’s your counselor, did Matteo just set you loose to wreak havoc on my carefully compiled art supplies?” As David finished the sentence, a big smile on his face, he glanced up and saw Matteo. His smile got a little smaller, softer, and Matteo felt the greeting that was on the tip of his tongue disappear. 

David’s shirt sleeves were rolled up again, exposing the muscles in his arms and the tattoo on his bicep. He was wearing dark green shorts that were tight against his legs, and no shoes. Matteo looked up with a blush when he realized that he had basically just checked David out, and saw that David’s lips were pursed, holding back a smile. 

“Oh, uh. Hi. Everything good?” Matteo mentally kicked himself for the lackluster hello, but David smiled wide again.

“Everything’s good with me, yeah. You?”

“Oh yeah. Just getting settled, you know. Your tips have already come in handy.” He hadn’t meant to bring them up, but it seemed like he couldn’t quite control his words when he was around David. 

“Oh, you found those?” David’s cheeks blushed when he spoke and Matteo almost choked. 

“Yeah, your hiding place was a little hard to miss, considering it was my bed.” He laughed a little as David’s cheeks got redder, and David laughed along with him.

“That’s a good point.”

They smiled at each other for a moment before a loud thud sounded in the cabin. They both looked up to see Jules on the floor, Gabe standing over him in an obvious victory stance, holding a large paintbrush. The other large paintbrush next to Jules’ hand told them exactly what happened.

“Okay, boys, no more sword fighting. Welcome back to camp!” He threw his arms out as the boys cheered, Gabe yanking Jules up from the ground. Matteo smiled at their excitement.

“Since it’s the first day back, I have a super special secret activity for you guys!” Leo rolled his eyes, but the rest of the boys looked excited. Matteo was feeling a little excited too, the energy in the room getting to him, but before David could reveal the surprise Simon yelled out.

“Oh oh we get to draw on your shirt!”

The boys all groaned as David paused with his mouth open before shaking his head.

“Simon, buddy, it was supposed to be a surprise!”

“David we’ve all been to camp before, we already knew!” Andy piped up, and David rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah,  _ you _ guys know. This is Matteo’s first summer here, it was a surprise for him!”

“Oh,” Matteo’s eyes widened a bit, “Me? I’m involved in this?”

“Of course! I always ask the counselor to draw at least something small, and to write your cabin number somewhere.”

“Uh, okay. I can do that.” Matteo nodded and David smiled at him, before moving into the middle of the cabin where there was a larger open space. 

“Okay boys.” David said, and gestured to the basket filled with fabric markers that was sitting on one of the tables, “go crazy.”

The boys all yelled and grabbed for the basket, most of the markers falling on the ground around David’s feet as he laughed. They all picked a spot and started drawing, the room going quiet as they focused on their doodles.

“Matteo?”

Matteo looked up from his clipboard and saw David smiling at him, and he smiled back before realizing that he should respond.

  
“Oh, um, yeah?”

“Could you grab my phone? It’s on that table over there.”

Matteo nodded and walked over and picked up the phone, which was in a dark blue, heavy-duty case. David was obviously a very physically active person, so that made sense. 

When he picked it up, the screen turned on and Matteo could see that his background was a small drawing of the trans flag, with a messy smiley face under it. He smiled, bringing the phone over to David.

“Oh, um,” David tried to reach for the phone but Leo squawked, grabbed his arm, and went to start drawing on his sleeve, “I guess… okay, I definitely shouldn’t say this in front of campers but my password is 2121, can you go on Spotify and find my ‘camp’ playlist?”

Matteo responded with a quiet, “Okay,” and unlocked David’s phone, quickly pulling the playlist up and playing it. Gentle but poppy instrumental music began playing through a speaker on one of the tables, and Matteo bopped his head as he watched the boys draw.

As he watched, he started noticing even more why David was such a hit with the kids. The way he spoke with them and interacted with them was so natural, he was treating them like they were all just friends hanging out and chatting. He was laughing loudly at their jokes and it didn’t seem fake, joked back at them and smiled when they laughed or yelled back. 

Matteo was also trying very hard to not  _ stare _ . It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that David was the most attractive boy, no,  _ human _ , that Matteo had ever seen. His hair was starting to flop over into his face a little and his eyes were scrunching up as he laughed at something Leo said. He ended up looking down at the floor, shuffling his feet and fidgeting with the clip of his clipboard.

He waited enough time that it wouldn’t seem like he had been staring and looked up again, not expecting to see David staring back at him. Their eyes locked for a moment before they both turned away, identical blushes on their cheeks. Matteo didn’t dare look up again until he heard David calling his name. He looked up to see the boys moving away from David, all taking seats at a table that was set up with crayons and markers and sheets of paper. They all started coloring as he walked closer to where David was standing. 

“Okay, so I’m going to need you to write your cabin number on the collar right here,” David tilted his head to the side, stretching his neck out as he pointed to spot over his collarbone, “and then try to find a spot and draw something.”

“Oh, um, yeah. I can do that. Okay.” Matteo bit his lip before he could continue speaking like an idiot. He grabbed a random marker and stepped very much into David’s personal space. He gulped before reaching the marker out, but quickly realized that he needed to get closer and needed some way to stabilize himself.

“Um,” he started, and David raised his eyebrow, “can I, like, put a hand on your arm? If not that’s okay, I just need to-”

“Matteo,” David interrupted him before he could spiral, his lips pursed again, “that’s totally fine, do whatever you need to do.”

Matteo nodded, reaching out a hand to grab David’s bicep. He took a step forward and tripped a little, and David grabbed his arm to steady him. He looked up and David’s face couldn’t have been more than an inch away.

“Oh, fu- I mean, um, crap. Sorry.” He stuttered out the apology, stepping back quickly.

“You’re fine, man. Just glad I caught you.” David said with a smile, and Matteo blushed, stepping forward and grabbing David’s arm again. He was finally able to carefully write out 21:21 on the collar, and stepped back to look for a spot to draw something. He circled David slowly, an exaggerated thoughtful expression on his face. He thankfully had enough self control to stop his eyes from drifting any lower than David’s shirt, and found a spot on his left shoulder blade that had enough room for him. 

“Okay, anything specific I should draw?”

“Anything your heart desires.” He said it with a chuckle, and Matteo grinned back even though David couldn’t see it.

He thought for a few moments, listening to the music and the quiet chatter of the boys on the other side of the room. He glanced over at them quickly to make sure they were all still there and then looked back at David just as inspiration struck. He smiled wide before quickly drawing a small turtle, much less artistically than the one David drew on the paper still hidden under his pillow. He pulled back and walked in front of David again, smile still on his face.

The rest of the day went quickly with little conflict, besides a spilled water at dinner that almost caused a fistfight between Jules and Gabe. It was settled quickly, and before Matteo knew it, they were walking back to the cabin for the night. He and the boys got ready for bed slowly, all of them exhausted from their first full day of activities. 

They all got into bed and Matteo fell asleep with his hand under his pillow, his pinky finger touching the paper hidden there. 

*****

Matteo was excited for Tuesday, because Tuesday meant music, and music meant Jonas. His boys were excited too, all of them (except Andy, who was sitting there sleepily eating his food) bouncing as they ate until it was time for them to go. 

They entered the cabin the same way they had the day before, bursting through the door, but this time Matteo was hot on their heels. The walk over had turned into an impromptu race and Matteo had to run to keep up with the boys so he wouldn’t lose them. He heard Jonas laughing as he walked in, and saw him in the middle of a group hug.

“Ey, Luigi, I thought these were your boys!”

“Wait,” Simon said, looking between the two of them with a squint, “are you guys friends? Matteo you said that your friends call you Luigi!”

“Yeah, me and Luigi have been friends for a long time.” Jonas said with a laugh.

He walked over and elbowed Jonas in the side playfully and Jonas responded by locking an arm around his neck, yanking his head down as Matteo laughed.

“Bro, stop, David said-” Matteo cut himself off, wiggling out of Jonas’ arm as he tried to save his sentence, “um, I don’t want them copying us, dude.”

Jonas stepped back, eyeing him suspiciously as he walked over and grabbed his guitar, moving to stand in front of a whiteboard marked with staff lines. 

“Okay, boys, take a seat! You too Luigi! We’re going to start by going over some basics.”

*****

The only exciting thing about Wednesdays was the fact that the campers got an extra half hour of swimming. Matteo loved when it was time for swimming, because he could sit on the ground near the lake and let the certified lifeguards watch his kids. He would usually sit there and alternate between people-watching, watching his campers, and fiddling with his clipboard. While he had his phone, he had been told that he was only supposed to use it for emergencies or to take pictures. It was one of the only parts of his day where he could really disconnect his brain and just chill.

He had been doing so, completely spacing out, until he felt a kick. He opened his eyes and saw Amira standing over him, wearing her flower sunglasses and a smirk on her face.

“Hey, Vollidiot,” he smiled up at her at the nickname, “enjoying your first week?”

“Na, coach. It’s been good.You?” 

“Great, as usual. I love my girls this year, they’ve become friends so quickly. We have little chats every night as we’re going to bed, it’s the cutest thing. How about you? How are your boys?” Amira sat down next to him, taking one last peek to see where her girls were. 

“They’re, uh,” Matteo glanced out at the lake to see Jules and Gabe trying to dunk each other under the water, Simon swimming in circles around them as Leo and Andy watched from the side, talking quietly to each other, “They’re fun. Kinda weird, but I think they like each other?”

“Well, if they’re weird I’m sure they like you,” Matteo grinned and elbowed her gently and she elbowed him back, less gently, “and how about you? How are you doing? I know it can be kind of crazy your first summer, and with everything else you were dealing with….”

Amira trailed off and Matteo stayed quiet for a minute. He was trying to think of a good answer, one that would explain how he was feeling about camp, about the fact that he hadn’t spoken to his dad since the first phone call, about the fact that he was very quickly falling in love with someone that would get him fired.

“I’m… okay. All things considered.” He said it quietly, looking down at the ground as he started fidgeting with his clipboard again.

“Matteo….” Amira started, but was quickly cut off by someone calling her name. They both looked up as David came into view, waving his arm and grinning at the two of them.

“Amira, hey! I had a question I wanted to ask you. Hey, Matteo.” Matteo squinted up at where David was standing, giving a small wave before David plopped down next to Amira and they started talking about something regarding her campers and sports for the next day. Matteo zoned out, missing the occasional glances Amira would send in his direction. He only started paying attention again when he heard Simon’s distinct yell calling for David to go in the lake with them, other campers shouting their agreement. 

David laughed, shaking his head as he called back, “Not today buddy, I don’t have a bathing suit on!”

“That’s never stopped you before.” Amira smirked and bumped her shoulder into David’s, the latter rolling his eyes and standing up. Matteo heard the campers start cheering, but could only focus on David as he ripped his shirt off and ran to the lake, executing a perfect canonball as the lifeguards blew their whistles. 

David popped out of the water, shaking his head wildly in the direction of some campers and they screamed in glee, swimming away from where David was causing a ruckus. He tossed his head back to laugh, and stood there for a moment, running a hand through his hair as he closed his eyes and smiled.

This time, Matteo could not stop staring.

He barely even noticed that he and Amira had gotten splashed. He knew it was a problem, knew that Amira was sitting right next to him and could easily figure out where he was looking, but his self control had run out, because David was  _ hot _ . 

He let his eyes drift over David’s bare torso, all tan, dark skin, and randomly placed freckles, tight muscles and a few small scratches and bruises that Matteo assumed were from some kind of sport. He noticed two scars that ran parallel under his pecs, and when his eyes trailed up he noticed another tattoo. Matteo’s mouth went dry as he stared, trying to make out what it was. There were three distinct shapes, starting in the middle of his chest and extending over his pec towards his right shoulder. Matteo felt himself leaning forward to make it out (and to get a slightly closer look at David) but before he could, he felt a hand on his shoulder pulling him back. 

“Hey, you okay? What are you looking at?”

“Oh, uh,” while Matteo was grateful that Amira hadn’t noticed his very obvious staring he struggled to quickly come up with an excuse, “I, um, thought I saw Leo. Uh. Drowning.”

“Okay,” Amira was squinting at him, and he knew he fucked up, “A little counselor tip, next time if you think a camper is in danger, maybe say something instead of just watching? Are you sure you’re okay, Matteo?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just still getting used to it all, you know. It’s a lot to take in.” He said the last part as his eyes drifted back out towards the water, finding David immediately.

He watched as David snuck up behind a camper that Matteo didn’t know and quickly grabbed her in his arms before throwing her into the lake a few feet away. Matteo’s jaw dropped as Amira laughed, and he turned to look at her like she was crazy.

“What- is that allowed? That looked dangerous!”

“Well,” Amira smiled out at the lake, “It technically isn’t allowed, but it’s David. He gets away with a lot here. He just… has that charm, you know?”

“Yeah,” Matteo looked back out at the lake where he could see David grabbing Simon as he screamed with a huge grin on his face, and tossed him even farther, “I know.” 

Just as David went to grab another camper, the dark clouds above them started raining down with a force that nobody expected. The counselors got all the campers out of the lake, everybody racing to grab towels. Matteo and Amira put their clipboard over their heads to stop as much of the rain as they could, and could see their campers searching for their stuff. 

As Matteo waited, shivering slightly, David jogged up to them, and Matteo’s eyes immediately dropped down to look at his chest. He could finally see that the tattoo seemed to be a sketch of three birds, taking flight across his chest. It was a beautifully done tattoo, the lines thin but present enough to make out the shapes while still allowing them to look like they had been drawn onto his skin with a pen. 

David shifted, his hand dragging through his hair and flicking out water, and Matteo’s eyes snapped back up to his face and saw a grin there.

“You should come in next time, Matteo. Your boys would love it.” He winked, causing Matteo to swoon internally, before jogging away in the direction of his cabin. Matteo stared after him, not hearing when Amira said a hurried goodbye and shuffled her girls back to their cabin. He didn’t look away until Simon tugged on his soaked shirt, and he and the boys sprinted back to the cabin. 

*****

Thursday was going to be the first day that his boys would actually be participating in sports. On Monday, David had spent the whole time going over rules and basics while his boys and the other group that had gym with them listened raptly, paying more attention to David than Matteo could ever remember paying to an authority figure at that age. Tuesdays and Thursdays they usually had hiking with a special instructor, which was Matteo’s least favorite part of camp. Since it had rained the day before, they changed around the schedule for the week so his boys were doing sports on Thursday and hiking on Friday. 

They got to the big gym that they did sports in, and Matteo was surprised to see Amira there, her girls already in the right clothes and ready to play. Matteo sent his boys off to change quickly, before walking over to where Amira was sitting on the bleachers. 

“What are you doing here? Where’s Lucy? We had gym with her group on Monday.”

“Laura had to change some of the schedules around, so now we’re going to have gym with you. Can’t wait to see my girls win every game.” Her smile held a challenge, and Matteo grinned back.

“Well, just wait til you see-” before he could finish his sentence, Simon came racing out of the changing room and tripped on his shoelaces, the rest of the boys following behind and tripping over him. He and Amira stared at the collision, her with a smug smile on her face, until David came out of a door on the other side and raced over to help Simon and Leo up. They were all laughing, including Leo and Andy, and Matteo was relieved that it wasn’t going to set off another fight. His boys got along pretty well for the most part, but Leo and Andy were still taking some time to warm up. It was one of the few times Matteo had seen them laugh, and he smiled. 

“Wait til I see what? What was the end of that sentence?” Matteo bumped his shoulder into Amira’s as she laughed, and they watched David position the kids in a line in front of him. 

“Okay, everyone! We’re going to play our first full game of football today,” David dropped the ball under his arm to the ground, kicking it between his feet as he continued, “I just need to make new teams first.”

He had them count off, and then sent each team to their respective side. The game went well for a while, David smiling as he kept score and acted as the referee. It was fine until Simon tripped again and fell into one of Amira’s girls that was on his team, knocking them both over. Matteo panicked when he started crying and shot up, racing over to where David was already crouched down, a hand on Simon’s shoulder. 

“Hey bud, it’s okay, it was an accident. Are you hurt?”

“My ankle! My ankle is broken! I’m never gonna be able to walk again!”

David sighed, scooping him up and carrying him off and setting him down on a bench along the wall, Matteo following close behind. Once he was set down, David went to check on the girl from Amira’s group, who was already up and ready to play. Once confirming she was okay, David walked back over to Matteo and Simon, who had stopped crying and was sitting there pouting, leaning into Matteo’s side. 

“Okay, Matteo, can you take Simon to the nurse’s cabin? It’s right next to this one,” He turned to Simon, “Can you stand up and try to walk?”

Simon nodded and got up, standing on shaky legs and taking a couple of steps. He grabbed Matteo’s hand for balance and David grinned when he saw that Simon was okay.

“Okay, good, no amputations today.” 

Simon giggled at his words, before tugging on Matteo’s hand, leading him out of the gym. Matteo realized that he had gone completely silent once it happened, hadn’t quite shut down, but was overcome with way more worry than he had expected. Kids get hurt all the time and were fine, he had seen his cousins fall out of trees and get up with a smile, but this was different. 

The nurse told him that she would take care of Simon and he could go back to the rest of his group, and she would bring him by when he was okay. He squeezed Simon’s hand again before smiling and saying a quiet goodbye, and making his way back to the gym.

When he got back, he settled next to Amira and closed his eyes, letting the tension he had been suddenly filled with drain away. She put a hand on his arm and let him sit quietly for a few minutes. Once his heart rate had slowed again, he opened his eyes to watch the rest of the boys play. He was surprised to see how intensely Jules, Gabe, and Andy were fighting for the ball, Leo standing quietly in the goal, barely paying attention to the game. 

He almost didn’t notice that David was in the game. He figured it was because one team was uneven, but it didn’t seem fair that David took Simon’s place.

“How is that fair? That team is gonna win now.”

Amira snorted before replying, “David doesn’t score on kids. I’ve seen him play football against other counselors and he’s a beast. With kids the most he does is pass the ball.”

Matteo nodded and watched, and saw that Amira was right. David was quick and agile, able to move around the floor and get wherever the ball was in seconds. His skills were definitely heightened compared to the children he was playing with and against, but Matteo was still impressed. He would be very interested to see David play against older people to see how skilled he actually was (definitely not for other reasons).

When the game was over, one team breaking a tie in the final seconds, David sent the kids off to change and jogged over to wear Matteo and Amira were sitting, grabbing a water bottle and squeezing it so the water shot into his mouth. Matteo was staring again, but he really couldn’t help it. David was sweating, breathing hard, his hair even messier than usual. As Matteo watched he grabbed the bottom of his shirt and pulled it up so he could wipe the sweat off his face, and Matteo stared at his exposed stomach until Amira jabbed him in the side.

He looked up at her, a blush on his face as she glared at him and kicked his leg. He glanced up and saw that David was checking something on his clipboard, so he turned to Amira and mouthed, “What?”

She just shook her head at him and got up, walking over to where her girls were waiting for her, already changed and ready. She called a bye to David as they left, and Matteo turned again to see David smiling at him.

“That was fun. You should play next time a kid gets hurt.”

Matteo laughed hard, before realizing David was serious.

“I don’t really… play sports. Or do anything physical. I still can’t feel my legs from the hike Tuesday.”

“Well, now it’s my goal to get you in a game this summer.”

“Are you saying you  _ want _ a kid to get hurt?”

“No, of course not,” David laughed, sitting next to Matteo on the bleachers, “but if a banana peel finds its way onto the floor next time you’re in here, it wasn’t me.”

They laughed and made vague jokes about purposefully hurting children before the boys came out, and Matteo hopped up and lead them out, waving goodbye to David as they left, walking back to the cabin to get ready for dinner. 

*****

It was the next day, Friday, while his boys were picking instruments out of Jonas’ bag that Matteo heard about the party.

“Yeah man, it’s something the counselors do every first Friday, a little celebration for getting through the week.”

“And it’s allowed? Will we get in trouble?”

“Well,” Jonas chuckled, “it isn’t really allowed, but Jacob and Laura know that stopping it is futile and that we deserve a break. We just don’t let it get too crazy, just a few drinks and some music. There’s a little clearing in the woods that’s just far enough away that the kids won’t hear us.”

  
“Can we just leave the kids for that long? That doesn’t seem safe.”

“Dude, chill. Not every counselor comes, I know for a fact that that guy Luke in the cabin next to you is staying. Your boys will be fine.”

Matteo agreed to go, but worried about it all day until it was time for the weekly campfire. Apparently every Friday after dinner, Jacob and Laura would set up an area big enough for all the campers and counselors, with a big fire in the middle for making s’mores. Jonas would sit on a log with his guitar, and always brought a few extra in case other counselors wanted to join in. 

Matteo was sitting next to him on the log, laughing and trying to sing along to the song that Jonas was playing, his boys and a bunch of other campers sitting on the ground in front of them, their smiling faces covered in chocolate and melted marshmallow. 

Matteo just happened to look up as David entered the area, hands in his pockets and a small smile on his face as he looked around, his eyes catching Matteo’s for a moment too long and his smile changing before he continued to scan the area. Matteo watched as he found Laura and ran up to her, grabbing her in a hug that made her shriek as he spun her around. She smacked his arm but laughed, and Matteo grinned when he could hear her and David’s laughter over the cacophony surrounding him. 

If he hadn’t been caught up with Jonas and his boys, he would’ve noticed the looks David was shooting in his direction sooner. It was only when Jacob announced that they were putting the fire out that Matteo caught his eye again, and David didn’t look away. The smile dropped slowly from Matteo’s face as David smirked across the fire at him, his skin lighting up beautifully from the flames and sparks flicking up into the air. Matteo felt himself start to squirm under the gaze, Jonas too occupied to notice. 

David didn’t look away, and neither did Matteo, until Jacob dumped a large bucket of water on the fire and it went out, and David disappeared in the sudden darkness. 

“You ready for the party, Luigi? Meet me in front of the art cabin after your boys are asleep, we’ll walk over together. I told Abdi and Carlos to meet us there.” Jonas clapped him on the back and Matteo nodded slowly, only looking away from where David had been when he heard Leo yawn. He looked down and saw that all of the other boys were fast asleep on the ground, snoring quietly in a pile. He smiled and quickly took his phone out, snapping his first picture of the summer, before gently waking them and leading them back to the cabin.

Once the boys were asleep, Matteo quietly changed into nicer clothes, and prepared himself before venturing out of the cabin. 

  
  
  
  



	5. ive had a drink or two and i dont care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Jonas, David is here!”_
> 
> _“Wait, David? Like David Schreibner David? Like David Schreibner that doesn’t go to parties David?”_
> 
> _"The one and only.”_
> 
> _They all looked up to see David who was suddenly standing with the group, a cup in his hand, smile wide on his face, his eyes still focused on Matteo. Matteo stared back, and then couldn’t stop staring. He watched as the boys all extended their fists, David bumping his against them, and a second too late he held out his own. David held his gaze as he pressed their fists together, and held them there for a second longer than he had with the other boys before he let his hand drop. ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well friends......get fuckin ready sdfsjdfghdfg
> 
> title from "i dont want to spoil the party" by the beatles
> 
> i hope you enjoy ;)

As Matteo walked towards the music cabin, he could feel the usual pre-party fear beginning to grow in his stomach. Parties usually had a lot of the things that made Matteo the most anxious: a lot of people, loud music, strange lighting, and the expectation of socialization. Matteo had a hard enough time at the parties that Jonas would drag him to during the school year, so the idea of  _ this _ party made up exclusively of his coworkers was nerve wracking, to say the least.

He also knew that his usual coping method at parties was almost definitely going to be inaccessible at  _ this _ party; he doubted any of the counselors brought weed with them to camp and Matteo was going to have to get through it with alcohol alone. He had struggled with the knowledge that he had to leave his supplies with Hans when he left for camp. Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to just light a joint at night to calm himself down was honestly one of his main hesitations about working at camp. Hans had convinced him (not so nicely) that it would be far worse if he tried to sneak it in and got caught-- the anxiety that the conversation sparked about getting fired and then being left with absolutely nowhere to stay guided his decision to leave it.

Matteo figured that he would spend the whole night by Jonas’ side, which was his usual plan. Jonas was good at talking to people, he was well liked, he liked to dance and have a good time at parties, and that usually distracted people from Matteo’s obvious anxiety and lack of social skills. He always considered himself lucky to have someone like Jonas who could join any conversation and, by association and proximity alone, bring Matteo in as well.

He had to admit that walking through the camp when it was dark out was a little bit terrifying.  He was still getting used to all the random noises like bugs chirping and hissing. Little nocturnal animals would scurry through the woods, making rustling sounds that would strike Matteo with fear when he was lying awake in his cabin .  Walking alone with nothing to defend himself made him hurry his pace and soon he could see Jonas, Abdi, and Carlos standing on the steps of the cabin.

“Hey, Matteo! Dude, what took you so long?” Jonas pulled him into his side in a quick hug, and Matteo reached out and bumped the fists that Abdi and Carlos offered.

“Sorry guys, the boys took a while to fall asleep.” It wasn’t exactly  _ true _ , but he didn’t want to sabotage his already flimsy reputation by mentioning how long it took him to pick out his clothes, and how long he had to stand in his cabin, fists clenched, willing himself to walk out the door.

“That’s fine, man, you’ve got… quite a group.” Jonas grinned at him and Abdi and Carlos nodded. Matteo snorted and jabbed Jonas in the side. 

“Hey, shut up, my boys are great.” He wasn’t expecting the sudden defensiveness he felt at Jonas’ words but he chuckled along with the others because even he knew that his group was a little… chaotic, was a nice way to put it. 

“Don’t worry dude, we all know that,” Jonas jabbed him back softly, and Matteo smiled before looking down at the ground as Jonas continued, “so are we ready to go?”

Abdi and Carlos both whooped and started jogging away, Abdi tripping over his own feet and knocking into Carlos, who turned to punch him in the arm before slinging his own arm around Abdi’s shoulders. Matteo and Jonas took off a few paces behind, and Matteo was glad to have a little time with just him.

“You okay, Luigi? I know parties aren’t really your thing.” Jonas was looking at him out of the corner of his eye, trying not to look as concerned as he did. Matteo bumped their shoulders together before sighing.

  
“It’ll be fine, man, I just wish I had a fucking joint.”

“There was one year where someone brought one but everybody got too paranoid that Jacob was gonna smell it, so I think they threw it in the lake.”

Matteo grinned and turned to Jonas, “Think we should go try to find it?”

“Dude, I’ll fucking race you there!”

They laughed together until they noticed that Abdi and Carlos were slowing a little, and Matteo started to hear music in the distance. He laughed nervously once more before quieting down, his nerves starting to get the best of him. Jonas must have noticed because he shot Matteo a small smile and bumped their shoulders again.

“It’ll be fine, dude, and if you want to leave early I’d go back with you.” The sincerity in Jonas’ voice reminded Matteo why he had such a big crush on Jonas for so long, and he shook the thought out of his head, knowing that going down  _ that _ particular rabbit hole while he was already worrying would be a bad plan.

“Nah, I’ll be fine. As long as the drinks are good.”

Jonas grinned at him and replied, “Oh, dude, the drinks are  _ always _ good.”

They walked in silence for a while, Matteo trying to hide his panic as the music got louder. He could see a clearing up ahead and started seeing vague shapes of people, none of whom he could recognize. They reached the entrance to the clearing and were greeted with cheers from some of the counselors standing around. They were pointed in the direction of a table covered in a much larger assortment of alcohol than Matteo had been expecting. Jonas ran over, grabbing a shot for himself and Matteo, and Carlos did the same for himself and Abdi.

“Cheers to the first fucking week, boys!” Carlos yelled, and they all downed their shots, sputtering at the taste of what had to be extremely cheap vodka.

*****

An hour into the party, Matteo was feeling pretty good. Or at least good for him at a party, he figured. He wasn’t feeling too anxious, as he and the boys had found an area where they were far enough away from the others that Matteo didn’t feel pressure to talk to anyone he didn’t know (so, almost everyone). It helped that they had each had a couple more shots, and Matteo had a cup in his hand filled with some concoction that was making his head feel floaty in a really nice way. He was listening to the boys yell over each other about something that he missed and he tuned in again, trying to pay attention.

“Bro, it didn’t happen like that! She said it to him, and then he told her and then  _ she _ told me!”

  
“But why did  _ she _ tell you in the first place? Why didn’t he just do it?”

“Wait, why was he even talking to  _ her  _ in the first place?”

Matteo, having absolutely no clue what was going on, decided to tune back out. He glanced around the party, trying to see if he could put a name to any other counselor. He recognized a couple of the other boys counselors that had been there when Otto scolded him. He tried to avert his gaze until he noticed one of them staring at him. Matteo looked away and brought the cup up to his lips and drank the rest of the contents. He got Jonas’ attention and gestured in the direction of the drink table, and Jonas nodded and asked Matteo to grab him something too before going back to the convoluted conversation they were having.

Matteo grabbed a beer for Jonas and one for himself and opened it, taking a sip before turning to walk back to where the boys were. He only made it a few feet before the counselor that had been staring at him appeared in front of him, a smile already on his face.

“Hey, you’re Matteo, right?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. That’s me.” He took another sip of his beer, wondering why the guy had approached him.

“I’m Ben. It was really shitty of Otto to talk to you like that on the first day. It’s your first summer here, right?” At Matteo’s nod the dude rolled his eyes and shook his head, saying, “Yeah, he’s a dick. If you need help with anything while you’re here you can always come find me.”

He was still smiling after Mattteo nodded again, and was just staring at him in a strange silence that made Matteo feel itchy. He brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck as Ben took a sip of his drink.

“So, uh,” Ben started, his eyebrows raising a bit, “what do you do when you’re not chasing after eight year-olds?”

Matteo laughed a little, and Ben smiled wider. He had to stop himself from replying  _ Smoke weed and panic about my future, how about you? _ He settled on shrugging and saying, “Not much, really. I’m boring.”

“You don’t seem boring. You seem pretty interesting, actually.” Ben smirked and took a slight step forward, and  _ oh _ , Matteo suddenly understood what was happening. It was the surprise that stopped him from making some excuse and quickly leaving.

  
“Ha, well, you’d be wrong about that.” He took another sip of his beer, shifting his body so he was leaning back a little, away from the wolfish smile on Ben’s face. 

“I doubt that’s true. Maybe you’d give me a chance to find out sometime?”

He choked on his beer at the question, and then a few things happened at once. Ben put a hand on his arm just as some people near the front cheered again, and he could hear Jonas drunkenly yelling his name from the spot where he left the boys. 

He was sputtering when he looked up in the direction of the cheering, and almost started choking  _ more _ when he saw David standing there, looking  _ ridiculously _ hot, and staring directly at him, an indiscernible look on his face. 

He watched David take a few steps into the clearing, still staring at Matteo, until his attention was drawn away by Jonas almost aggressively grabbing onto his arm, dragging him away from Ben in his enthusiasm.

“Matteo! Where’s my fucking drink, dude? You’ve been gone too long!” Matteo glanced at the almost  _ offended _ look on Ben’s face before shrugging at him and handing the beer to Jonas, and he didn’t give it a second thought when Ben huffed and turned, walking away from them just as Abdi and Carlos ran over.

“Jonas, David is here!”

“Wait,  _ David _ ? Like  _ David Schreibner  _ David? Like  _ David Schreibner that doesn’t go to parties _ David?” 

“The one and only.”

They all looked up to see David who was suddenly standing with the group, a cup in his hand, smile wide on his face, his eyes still focused on Matteo. Matteo stared back, and then couldn’t  _ stop _ staring. He watched as the boys all extended their fists, David bumping his against them, and a second too late he held out his own. David held his gaze as he pressed their fists together, and held them there for a second longer than he had with the other boys before he let his hand drop.

The boys immediately roped David into their conversation and the second his eyes were off of Matteo, Matteo’s eyes dropped and started scanning over David’s body. 

He was wearing cuffed black jeans with holes in both knees and on one thigh, and Matteo didn’t allow himself to stare at the exposed skin there before his eyes moved up, almost getting lost in the pattern of the white floral short sleeved button up shirt David had on that was tight against his chest and arms. He could hear David saying something to Carlos so he let his eyes trail up to look at David’s face again, and when he noticed the septum piercing in David’s nose he almost gasped. He had to look away again, the knowledge that David not only had tattoos, but  _ piercings _ as well making Matteo’s head swim even more than it already was. He looked down at the ground, staring at the black boots David had on, before looking up again and blushing when he noticed David’s eyes on him. David raised his cup to his lips, taking a long sip without dropping the eye contact, and Matteo gulped.

“Matteo, you remember that, right?”

His head whipped over to Jonas, who was staring between him and David with an obvious smirk on his face. Matteo blushed darker and stuttered a bit before nodding and unsurely saying, “Oh, uh yeah. Definitely.”

Jonas seemed satisfied with his response and continued with his story, and David looked away again, watching Jonas make some gesture that resulted in him spilling his beer all over his own shirt. Matteo snorted and started laughing as Abdi and Carlos yelled in delight, and he could hear David’s laugh, quieter than the others. He tried to focus on it, wishing the other boys would quiet down a little. He stopped laughing, though, when Carlos and Abdi each grabbed one of Jonas’ hands and dragged him to the drink table, leaving Matteo alone with David.

He blinked at their retreating backs before taking in a shaky breath and turning to face David again, who was staring at him with his lips pursed and his eyebrows raised a little.

“Hi.” Matteo said, his eyes wide. He was just drunk enough that he didn’t cringe at his own sudden speaking, but took a drink from his beer so he wouldn’t say anything else. 

“Hi.” David responded and mirrored Matteo, taking another sip of his own drink. 

“Are you, uh,” Matteo started talking again, his mouth forming words that his brain was yelling at him not to speak, “are you having fun, here? At the party?”

David smiled a little, licking his lips before saying, “Well, I’ve only been here for about five minutes but it’s been pretty great so far.”

Matteo chuckled, looking away, trying to see where the boys went. He was scared that he was going to say something that would make David realize how absolutely  _ gone _ for him he was, but knew if the others were around he could settle back next to Jonas and shut up. 

“How about you? You enjoying yourself? At the party?” He teased a little with his question, and Matteo blushed again.

“Oh, uh, yeah. This is definitely helping,” he raised his drink a little before remembering the conversation that he and David had had in the car on Sunday, and continued, “I just wish I had a joint or something.”

David laughed brightly, taking another sip of his drink and glancing around at the crowd of counselors surrounding them before his eyes focused on one and he hummed. 

“Wait right here, I’ll be back,” David said, still staring in the direction of the counselor he apparently needed to talk to, before turning back to Matteo, “Don’t move.”

Matteo whispered out an “Okay,” as David moved through the crowd quickly, grabbing the counselor’s arm and smiling at him before leaning in to whisper in his ear. Matteo took another sip of his drink as he waited for David to come back. He started glancing around again to look for the boys, figuring David would get caught up and forget that Matteo was standing there.

“Hey,” Matteo’s eyes darted back to David, who was suddenly standing in front of him, a joint held up in front of Matteo’s face, “do you want to?”

Matteo’s jaw dropped before he laughed, reaching out and trying to grab for the joint. David yanked his hand back quickly just as Matteo’s fingers touched it, and he smirked at Matteo’s frown. He tucked the joint behind his ear, under his hair that was starting to flop out of its previously styled look, and tilted his head in the direction of the woods that were almost pitch black, and said simply, “Come.”

Matteo watched for a second as David started walking in the direction of the woods, before jogging a little to catch up. Just as he reached David again, he heard Jonas yelling.

“Luigi! Where’d you go, dude?”

He cursed, trying to avoid the boys seeing him. David stopped, looking in the same direction, before he reached out and  _ grabbed Matteo’s hand _ , dragging Matteo behind him as he turned and walked into the woods that were much closer to where they were standing. Matteo didn’t say anything, just walked behind him, mouth agape as he felt the heat of David’s hand, how soft but also calloused his skin was. He didn’t know that hands could be both, and while thinking about it he tripped a little. He stumbled, and David felt the tug on his arm and turned to chuckle at him. 

“Careful, Luigi.”

The music from the party started getting lower as they walked, hands still connected. Matteo was grateful for that (more than grateful), because he had no idea where they were going and it was almost pitch black. At one point David took his phone out of his pocket, turning on the flashlight so he could see at least a few feet ahead.

“Dude, where are we going?” Matteo asked, getting a little nervous about how deep in the woods they were getting. David turned to look at him over his shoulder, his teeth glinting as he turned the light a little so he could see Matteo.

“It’s a surprise.”

Matteo scoffed but continued following, until David stopped and looked around for a second, shining the light in a sweeping motion around them.

“Hmmm.”

“What? Are we lost? Do you even know where we  _ are _ right now?”

David contemplated for a minute, still looking around the dark woods surrounding them, before his eyes popped open and the smile returned to his face. He turned slightly, dragging Matteo between two trees on their left as he said, “Yeah, of course,” and then turned his head to smile at Matteo and said again, “Come.”

They walked a little more, Matteo slowly realizing how sweaty and gross his hand probably was, but before he could start panicking David stopped.

“Okay, here we are.”

Matteo leaned to the side and saw a few feet ahead of David a creek that Matteo didn’t know existed, hadn’t seen on the map that he was given. The moon was shining through the trees and Matteo could see an almost flattened log on the ground. David dropped his hand (Matteo had to stop himself from pouting) so he could take a seat on it, patting the spot next to him when Matteo didn’t immediately sit down.

Matteo sat, realizing just how close they were when their knees knocked together as David dug through his pockets, letting out a quiet, “A _ ha _ !” as he pulled a lighter out with a flourish. Matteo laughed a little, trying not to stare as David put the joint between his lips. 

“Wait,” he said around the joint before pulling it out of his mouth and smiling, moving it in Matteo’s direction, “You go first. This was your idea, after all.”

Matteo chuckled, shoving David’s hand away, “No, dude, you go first. You’re the one that literally dragged me out here and is supplying the weed. How do I know you’re not trying to poison me?”

David giggled back, “Trust me, that’s not what I’m trying to do here.”

Matteo, still chuckling a little, decided to be just a  _ little _ annoying, and said, “Well, I’m not going first.”

“Okay, I guess we’re not smoking then.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

They sat there in silence for a few moments, both trying to hold back their laughter as they stared challengingly at each other. Matteo was the one to break when David fumbled with the joint, almost dropping it in the dirt under their feet, and Matteo let out a louder laugh than usual as he grabbed the joint out of David’s hands. He looked up and saw David grinning at him and he blushed before saying, “Okay, you win. Just because I do really want to smoke.”

David laughed back as Matteo put the joint between his lips, having to force the grin off of his own face so the joint wouldn’t fall out of his mouth. He grabbed the lighter from David, their hands touching again for a split second as it was passed over. 

He lit the end, puffing on it until it started burning, and he took a deep inhale, feeling the lingering tension in his body leave as the smoke entered his lungs. He was surprised when he started coughing and realized that a week long break was apparently enough for his lungs to forget the feeling.

“What’s all this? I thought you were a stoner, Mr. Florenzi.”

He didn’t question how David knew his last name, just knew that hearing it come out of his mouth sent a chill down his spine.

“Fuck off, I  _ am _ a stoner, watch.” He only glared a little bit as he took another hit, his lungs actually  _ working _ and allowing him to suck in more smoke, and just to be a dick, he blew it out right into David’s face. He laughed when David sputtered and grabbed the joint out of his hand, shaking his head and kicking at Matteo’s foot.

“Fuck you, dude!” He said it with a laugh, and Matteo giggled back, not even caring how dumb he probably sounded. He was having a great time, the alcohol already in his system effectively blocking his usual panic anytime he was around David. The hits he took were taking effect too, and he soon felt both floaty and heavy in the way that only being crossfaded could achieve. 

David put the joint between his lips and Matteo stared, transfixed as David’s eyes slid shut and his chest expanded. With the substances in his system, he really couldn’t force himself to look away, not when David’s lips looked so nice wrapped around the joint, how his dark skin looked contrasted against the white of his shirt, how the muscles in his legs were pulling the fabric of his pants tight, making his knees and the bit of his exposed thigh strain against the material surrounding the hem. 

Matteo looked up again when he heard David let out a couple coughs of his own, and he grinned, saying in his most teasing, annoying voice, “I thought you were a stoner, Mr. Schreibner!”

David knocked their knees together again as he raised his eyebrows and took another hit, taking a much deeper hit than Matteo had, to the point where Matteo had to clap a little as David exhaled, of course blowing the smoke in Matteo’s direction. 

“Okay, that was impressive.”

“Yeah, I know.” David winked and Matteo had to stop himself from collapsing off of the log. David’s grin was wide, a little looser than it had been, and he nudged the joint in Matteo’s direction.

  
Matteo took it and took another hit, but choked and started coughing when there was a sound to their left. He had jumped, moving slightly closer to where David was sitting, and David laughed loudly and poked him in the side.

“Oh my god, are you  _ scared _ ?”

“What, no, fuck off! I was just… startled.”

“Yeah, startled, sure. It’s fine if you’re scared, you know. There is a cool, muscular sports counselor here to protect you.” David flexed his arms with a grin and a laugh as he said it, and Matteo scoffed to cover his blush and shoved David’s shoulder.

“Shut  _ up _ .” Matteo took another hit as David smirked at him, knocking their knees together again. David didn’t move his away though, just pressed their legs together. Matteo could feel the heat through the two layers of denim and he was suddenly dizzy for reasons other than the joint in his hand. He realized that he was holding his breath and handed the joint over to David as he exhaled, blowing the smoke out in front of him. He needed to look away for a moment, let himself fucking  _ breathe _ because David was being flirtier than he had anticipated and he didn’t know if it was because he was crossed or… he didn’t even let his thoughts drift there. 

They were quiet as David took another hit. After he blew it out, he turned to Matteo and went, “So, when you aren’t staying in the lovely accommodations here at Camp Blackbird, where  _ do _ you stay?”

The question was complicated in ways that Matteo wasn’t quite ready to explain, so he told David about where he had been living, talked a little about Hans and Linn and Mia, and David listened with an interested smile on his face. When Matteo was done, David handed the joint back to him.

“Hm,” he said, watching Matteo’s hands as he lifted the joint to his mouth, “You know, that’s pretty close to me.”

Matteo’s eyes popped open, and he took his hit quickly, blowing the smoke out the side of his mouth before responding with, “Wait,  _ really _ ?”

“Yeah, maybe a 10 minute bike ride? I live with Laura, actually.”

Matteo processed that information for a moment, taking another hit before blowing it through his nose and handing the joint back to David, and said, “Wow, that sounds--”

Before he could finish there was another, much louder sound from somewhere to his side and he jumped again, almost into David’s  _ lap _ , one hand reaching down and grabbing David’s leg and  _ squeezing _ out of pure fear. David laughed as Matteo cursed and then let go of David’s leg and apologized. David ignored his apology (and Matteo tried to ignore how  _ nice _ the muscles in his leg felt), looking at Matteo as he took another hit. 

“You don’t need to be scared out here. I’m the scariest thing in these woods.”

Matteo snorted and David looked over, faux offense on his face as Matteo responded with, “You?  _ Scary _ ?”

“I guess no one told you,” he paused to take another hit, blowing it out in front of him and then baring his teeth through the smoke, “I’m a vampire.”

“Oh, is that why you brought me out here? To suck my blood?”

“Hm,” David hummed again, snubbing out the mostly dead joint on the log, “Maybe. Or maybe… I had other plans.”

“Other plans? Do vampires do anything besides--” and Matteo had to stop speaking, because when he looked up again, David was only a few inches from his face, his eyes big and dark as they glanced down at Matteo’s lips and then back up at his eyes. 

Matteo’s lips parted in surprise as he looked into David’s eyes, and then he noticed David moving closer, his gaze dropping down to Matteo’s lips and back up to his eyes again. Matteo stared into them, dark brown but red rimmed, and shifted forward himself, barely enough to make a difference as David’s eyes looked down  _ again _ , and his head started tilting. 

Matteo’s breathing was picking up and he glanced down at where his hands were resting on his legs, suddenly trembling. He let out a shaky breath as he looked up at David when their foreheads touched, and David stopped there for a moment, gazing into his eyes with a look so full of warmth, so timid and sure at the same time, and David looked down a fourth time, before he leaned in even closer, and Matteo stopped breathing when he could feel a puff of air from David’s mouth on his own. 

They stayed like that for a moment, both silent, holding their breath as they each waited for the other to make the move. It was David who did it, finally tilting his chin up, and Matteo’s eyes fluttered shut as he felt David’s nose bump his, and then the gentle brushing of their top lips--

Suddenly, there was a powerful rustling in the woods on David’s other side, followed by what almost sounded like a  _ growl _ . David whipped his body around, almost shielding Matteo, and looked into the woods. Matteo was so overwhelmed that without thinking he reached up and grabbed David’s arm, whispering a panicked, “ _ What the fuck was that _ ?”

“Um,” David whispered back, leaning away from where the sound was, “I don’t know, but I think we should back away slowly and then run?”

Matteo nodded and stood up when David did, both of them slowly backing away from the bushes that the growl came from. They walked backwards until they reached the edge of the wood they had come out of originally, and once they were past the line of trees, David turned to face him, took a deep breath, and started  _ running _ .

Matteo gasped and turned to follow, and could tell that David was running slower than he was actually able to so Matteo could keep up. That was much appreciated, as Matteo didn’t think he could remember his own  _ name _ anymore, let alone the direction back to the camp. 

They ran until they started to hear the music again, and Matteo slowed when David did. He was still a few paces ahead and Matteo had to stop for a minute to catch his breath, leaning against a tree. David turned around when he wasn’t able to hear Matteo’s footsteps and smiled softly when he saw him.

“You okay?” His voice was a little rough, and Matteo closed his eyes as he sucked in some breaths.

“Yeah, fuck, just. Fuck. That was. Kinda scary. And. Fuck.” He didn’t know how else to get out everything he was thinking with the mixture of the alcohol, the weed, and the new dizziness from the running. He didn’t even know what to think about everything that had just happened besides the fact that the bees were back and buzzing louder and more ferociously than ever.

David was still smiling at him as he took a few steps closer. They heard a yell from the group of counselors that were only about 20 feet away and David turned to look for a second, and when he turned back he was biting his lip.

“I told you,” he said, taking a few more steps forward until he was standing in front of Matteo again, and Matteo took in a quick breath when David grabbed his hand and squeezed it, “you don’t have to be scared. I’m here.”

Then David leaned forward, pecked Matteo on the cheek, and turned and started walking back to the group, Matteo following in a daze and their hands stayed intertwined until they reached the very edge of the woods. They let go at the same time before walking forward, and immediately saw Jonas, a worried look on his face.

“Brooooooo!” Apparently he had drank a good amount since Matteo had last seen him, “we were wondering where you went! Cabdi and Arlos- I mean, um, Abdi and Carlos left already.”

Matteo looked at David out of the corner of his eye and smiled, and when David smiled softly back he turned to Jonas who was thankfully too drunk to have noticed.

“I was fine, dude. David was just… showing me something. In the woods.”

“Yeah, I was showing him where the vampires hang out.” Matteo bit his lip to stifle a laugh as David grinned, obviously proud of himself for coming up with that.

“What…? Vampires?” Jonas mumbled, tilting his head to the side with a confused look on his face.

“Yeah, vampires. Let’s get you back to the cabins, yeah?” David stepped forward and put a hand on Jonas’ shoulder, and Matteo let a laugh slip out as he walked on the other side of him. 

  
They lead Jonas back to the main part of camp, and Matteo let his hand swing just close enough to David’s that they brushed together with every step. David’s lips were pursed as he bumped his hand into Matteo’s, locking their pinky fingers together for a second before Jonas stopped walking suddenly.   
  


“Wait, I know how to get back!”

“I’d hope so, buddy, it’s pretty much a straight line to your cabin.” 

“Oh… yeah….” 

Matteo chuckled and looked down at the ground as David patted Jonas on the shoulder, and when Jonas turned to face the direction of his cabin, David turned to look at him and smile. Matteo smiled back, looking up at David through his eyelashes, and David let out a breath before realizing that Jonas didn’t seem to be able to move anymore, was still just standing there.

Matteo wanted to fucking shove him in the direction of his cabin so he could grab David’s cheeks and pull him in for a real kiss. But instead, of course, since David was the nicest person in the  _ world _ , he turned to Jonas and went, “Do you… need help getting there?”

Jonas paused for a moment before nodding, and Matteo and David both sighed and then looked at each other with matching blushes on their faces. Jonas’ cabin was in almost the opposite direction of Matteo’s, and he was definitely not nice enough of a person to walk all the way there with them. 

“Um,” he said quietly, looking down at the ground again as Jonas took a stumbling step away and then stopped again, “I think… I’m gonna go back to mine, then?”

Matteo looked up when David made a small, sad noise, blushing when he saw the almost  _ desperate _ look being shot in his direction. He stared back, trying to say  _ God I wish my best friend wasn’t a fucking idiot so we could try that again _ with his eyes, and when David smiled and nodded slightly with a sigh, he figured his message got across.

“Okay. Jonas, I’ll walk you back,” David put a hand on Jonas’ shoulder again and lightly pushed him so he’d start walking, and once he had taken a few steps David turned and winked, saying over his shoulder in a deeper voice that made Matteo’s heart skip a beat, “bye, Matteo. Sleep well.”

“You… you too.” Matteo watched as David shot him one more smile before he jogged to catch up with Jonas. 

Matteo stood there for a moment before shaking his head and turning to walk back to his cabin. In the rush of everything that happened, he didn’t realize how  _ exhausted _ he was until he got to the steps, and it was a major effort to get changed and into bed. 

He settled on his stomach, and when he put his hand under his pillow and felt the paper that was still there he blushed. His finger stroked over the material, and as he drifted off to sleep, his mind was filled with thoughts about David and his lips and his hands and his laugh and his smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (okay im kinda confused about how end notes work so im just gonna add the links and stuff okay?? okay)
> 
> me: [:)](https://shhhhyoursister.tumblr.com/)  
> yon (ty for all of your comments i love them so much): [:)](https://chlouais.tumblr.com/)
> 
> and heres a link to some art that one of my fave fanartists did for that one scene in chapter 3 (totally didnt xry when i saw it haha what are you talking about): [:,)](https://rimbaux.tumblr.com/post/187558696228/shhhhyoursister-asked-for-a-scene-from-his-fic)


	6. do you want to know a secret? do you promise not to tell?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“Dude, I fucking knew it.”_
> 
> _“What?” he laughed, before all the color drained out of his face when he saw what Jonas was holding_
> 
> _“It started at orientation, right? You were so fucking awkward, I should’ve known from the start!”_
> 
> _“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He stuttered out, obvious panic in his voice and on his face._
> 
> _“Dude,” Jonas said, walking over and placing a hand on Matteo’s shoulder, “you have a crush on David.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey friends, this is chapter 6!! this chapter has a few of my like,, og concepts for this fic in it, so it was really nice to be able to FINALLY write them cause ive been so freaking excited AHHH!!!!!!
> 
> chapter title is from "do you want to know a secret" by the beatles
> 
> yeah so enjoy haha!!!!!
> 
> okay im putting this at the top cause its important if you go [here](https://shhhhyoursister.tumblr.com/post/188038597085/okay-hi-friends-so-i-asked-rimbaux-to-draw-this) you can see some art that my amazing pal [rimbaux](https://rimbaux.tumblr.com/) drew for this chapter (pls only look after reading cause SPOILERS) but WOW its so good and flo is so good WOW

Matteo  _ buzzed _ through the weekend. He barely paid attention to what he and the boys did, only knew that he didn’t get to talk to David the entire time, a fact that he was extremely disappointed by. After getting the confirmation that David was into him he couldn’t stop thinking about it and knew that he was coming off as a little… distracted.

“Hey, dude, have you been paying attention to this conversation at all?”

His head shot up to see Jonas, Abdi, and Carlos all staring at him, confused and slightly annoyed looks on their faces. He laughed and blushed a little, his thoughts coming back from where he had just been thinking about the brief touch of David’s lips that he had felt the night before. 

“Sorry, guys, I may be a little distracted. Lots of stuff going on, you know.” He didn’t try to elaborate further despite the probing look on Jonas’s face, and he could tell he was holding back questions. They were in the dining hall and he was trying to stop himself from glancing around the room to try and catch a glimpse of the boy occupying his thoughts.

“Everything okay, Luigi?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” He responded with a smile, the fact that most of his life outside of camp was a huge fucking mess slipping his mind. 

“No reason, man, just making sure.” Jonas continued to stare at him the rest of the meal, and Matteo stayed quiet. He didn’t want to try to contribute to a conversation he could barely follow and he was worried that if he tried speaking he would just gush about his night. 

“Yo, Matteo, I actually heard someone here is into you.”

Matteo’s head whipped around to stare hard at Carlos as a feeling of panic settled over him, and he asked through a tight smile, “Oh really? Who?”

“Do you know that Ben dude? I think his cabin is in the same area as yours.”

Matteo felt relief rush through his body and he snorted before laughing out loud, surprising the boys with his outburst.

“Oh, uh, yeah. He tried hitting on me at the party. He’s not really my type.”

Matteo was glad that the boys dropped it instead of asking his type, because he would have just started describing David. He was trying to avoid other people finding out about whatever was going on between them. Not that he really thought the boys would rat him out, but the more people who knew, the more likely it was to get back to Jacob. 

The rest of the weekend passed similarly, with Matteo silently grinning to himself every few minutes and getting weird looks from whoever he was with because of it. He wasn’t known to be a particularly happy person and he could tell that Amira and Jonas especially were picking up on his mood shift.

He couldn’t help himself, though. He was  _ thrilled _ . Actively being gay was something that was still very,  _ very _ new to him, and the fact that the first guy who really caught his attention that wasn’t his best friend (who was also so fucking hot, if it wasn’t mentioned) noticed him  _ back _ made the bees buzz happily. 

When it was finally Monday again, Matteo spent the entirety of breakfast almost vibrating out of his chair with sudden nerves. The boys were too sleepy to notice, which he was grateful for because he wouldn’t know how to explain his mood to a bunch of eight year-olds. He was excited to see David again, but the voice in the back of his head that always sprang up to ruin his mood was screaming.

_ What if he was just crossed and doesn’t actually like me? What if he just feels bad for me? What if he forgot all of it and everything just goes back to the way it was?  _

Matteo tried to shake the thoughts out of his head as he and the boys left the dining hall, them slightly perkier due to the food in their bellies. Matteo had drank what was possibly too much coffee and had barely eaten more than a piece of toast and he could tell that he was a little off. He looked up at the sky when he felt a drop of water land on his skin and saw dark gray clouds rolling in. The boys started complaining and he hurried them to the art cabin just as the rain started falling harder.

He was so focused on getting them out of the cold rain that he almost forgot who would be in the art cabin. He shook the water out of his hair and saw the boys do the same before he heard, “Oh, is it raining already?”

He looked up and saw David standing near one of the tables, a small smile on his face. Matteo didn’t smile back, was suddenly speechless from nerves and from finally seeing David after two long days. He blushed when David smiled wider, showing his teeth.

“Are you guys ready to paint?” David walked closer to where Matteo was still standing in front of the door, reaching behind him to close it. David’s arm brushed against his and he sucked in a quick breath, and David smirked before turning to face the boys who were already crowding around the paper and paint David had set up. 

“What are we painting? Can I paint a dog? Or a cat? Can I paint both?” Simon squeaked from the table, a large paintbrush already in his hand.

“I actually was thinking about having us paint outside, but that doesn’t seem like the best idea anymore.”

“Why not? I want to paint with mud!” Gabe yelled and Jules nodded along enthusiastically at the suggestion. 

“While I love the idea of making art using things we find outside, I don’t think this paper could handle rain, let alone mud.”

  
“Why didn’t you get better paper, then?”

“That’s a great question, and I’ll look for mud-proof paper next time me and Matteo run to the store.”

At the mention of his name Matteo looked up again and saw David smiling at him. He smiled back and David winked before turning back to the boys to start explaining the activity for that day.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, there was a sudden  _ boom _ of thunder, a bright  _ crack _ of lightning that lit up the inside of the cabin, and a  _ click _ as the lights went out. The boys all screamed at the sudden darkness before David took his phone out to turn on the flashlight.

“Guys, hey, it’s okay, it’s okay! Just a power outage from the storm. I guess we can’t paint, though.”

Matteo was staring out at the sudden downpour and he felt a tug on his shirt as David continued trying to calm the boys. He looked down to see Andy, tears on his face, his little hand shaking where it clenched in Matteo’s shirt.

“Hey, you okay? It’s just rain.”

“I don’t like storms. Too loud.”

“Me neither.” He looked to see Leo standing on his other side suddenly and felt a yank as his hand came to grab at Matteo’s shirt too. 

“Oh, um,” he thought for a moment before suddenly remembering something, and he reached into his pocket, rummaging around and turning to David to ask, “Do you have earbuds? Or headphones? Or earplugs, or anything really?”

“I should have something in my bag, give me a sec.” He pulled his own earbuds out with a smile as David turned to him, waving a set of headphones in his direction. Matteo handed the earbuds to Leo and the headphones to Andy, and both boys calmed once they were on. 

“So… what do we do? Now that there are no lights?”

“David, tell us a scary story!” Simon piped up from where he was still at the table, paintbrush still in hand. 

“Would everyone want that? I won’t make it too scary.”

“I only want it if you’re going to make it  _ really _ scary.” Jules said, and Simon and Gabe nodded.

“Leo? Andy? You guys okay with a  _ really _ scary story?” Matteo looked down at the boys who were still clutching onto his shirt. Leo nodded, but when Andy didn’t respond immediately Matteo nudged him.

“What? I can’t hear you!” Andy yelled, and Matteo heard David snort.

“Those are noise-cancelling, so I think he’ll be fine.”

David sat on the ground and crossed his legs, and Matteo sat across from him. He was surprised when Leo and Andy took the spots next to him and leaned against his side. They had been the least physical campers of the group, and while it wasn’t rare to find Simon hugging Matteo or Jules and Gabe play-fighting him, Leo and Andy tended to keep their hands to themselves. He figured they needed the extra comfort, though, so he didn’t say anything.

One they were all settled on the floor around David, he took his phone out and turned the flashlight on again. He placed it on the floor face down so his face was cast in an eerie glow, and he looked back up to grin creepily at his audience.

“What kind of story are you guys thinking? Ghosts, zombies,” he turned specifically towards Matteo and his grin grew even wider as he asked, “vampires?”

Matteo blushed but grinned back at him, and the two just smiled at each other for a moment before a small hand shot into the air, interrupting their staring.

“Ooh, ooh! Tell Matteo about the camp curse!” Simon yelled, waving his hand in front of David’s face, whose eyes lit up and shined in the light of the flashlight.

“That’s a great idea, Simon. You boys have all heard this before, so don’t spoil it. Now, it all began about 50 years ago....”

Matteo listened as David started telling a story about five young campers who got lost in the woods around the camp and spent the night getting chased by  _ something _ before somehow finding their way back in the morning. During the next few weeks of camp, however, they started disappearing from their beds one by one, the only sign that they were there in the first place being the suitcases they brought from home. The kids were never found, blah blah blah, Matteo wasn’t paying super close attention.

He was finding himself getting a little scared, however. The boys were entranced by David’s storytelling, and Matteo could tell that they had heard him tell the same story dozens of times by the way they reacted before he even got to the scary parts. It was partially the fact that the rain was still pounding on the doors and windows, the wind making the trees cast shadows on the walls that Matteo  _ knew _ were trees, but due to the story his brain was coming up with much more frightening options.

It didn’t help that David was amazing at being  _ terrifying _ . He lowered his voice and slowly raised it again during the climactic moments, his wide, toothy grin turning sinister instead of sweet. When he widened his eyes they would glint in the light and he would laugh this deep, dark laugh that made actual goosebumps rise on Matteo’s arms. 

They were nearing the end of their usual art period, and Matteo was surprised at how long the story had been going on. It seemed like it had reached an end many times before David would add some new character or situation, the boys giggling in excitement with each addition. He could tell that David was coming to another almost-end by the way his voice started changing, and just as he bared his teeth and started growling out a conclusion-

The lights came back on with a loud  _ pop _ , and due to how tense Matteo had become he shot up, jumping almost a foot into the air as he let out a loud, terrified gasp. The boys all cheered at the lights coming back on but David had sucked in his lips at Matteo’s reaction, obviously holding back a pleased grin. 

“It’s okay, Matteo,” he said, reaching out a hand and placing it on Matteo’s leg, “I’ll protect you.”

His eyes widened at his own words as Matteo blushed, and he quickly went, “Oh, um, I mean me and  _ the boys _ will protect you, right guys?”

They all nodded, not even noticing what David said as they all got up and started chatting. David got up too and reached a hand out that Matteo stared at for a minute before realizing that David was trying to help him up. He grabbed the hand and was hoisted to his feet, and David  _ squeezed _ before letting go. 

He stood there for a moment as David picked his phone up and made his way over to start clearing up the art supplies he had laid out earlier. He didn’t move until he heard Simon yelling from the door, “Matteo, come _ on _ ! We’re gonna be late for lunch!”

“Oh yeah, um, let’s go.” He looked around for his clipboard and picked it up as all the boys yelled goodbye to David.

“Bye boys, see you later!” he called with his back still do the door, but he turned around again with a smirk and his arms full of paint and said a quiet, “Bye, Matteo.”

Matteo murmured back, “Bye, David,” before he was tugged out of the cabin by Simon. A laugh followed them out the door and Matteo felt like he was floating down the stairs of the cabin as he was dragged to the dining hall.

*****

The next morning, Matteo woke up with his fingers clenched around the doodle under his pillow, as he had most mornings since originally finding it. It seemed as if his hand sought it out in his sleep, and since Friday night it had become a very nice reminder that his feelings towards David were reciprocated. 

The same floaty feeling followed him to the dining hall and to music, and he could tell that Jonas knew something was up. He avoided the looks being sent in his direction by grabbing a guitar off of the rack and trying to play, laughing when the boys yelled out in horror at the awful sounds he was producing. Jonas seemed confused but pleased by how happy and almost  _ silly _ Matteo was being, but didn’t say anything until later that day, when Matteo suddenly realized he didn’t have his clipboard on him.

He walked back to the music cabin and called out for Jonas, who came out of a door in the back.

“Hey man, did you see my clipboard? I can’t find it.”

“I don’t think you came in with one, honestly.”

“Oh shit, I guess I left it in the cabin. I’m gonna go back for it, can you go to the dining hall and watch my boys till I get back? I left them with Amira but I don’t want her corrupting them.”

“They’ll be fine, dude, let me walk with you.”

Matteo shrugged and smiled before leading Jonas back to his cabin, whistling to some song that was stuck in his head as Jonas laughed. He reached out and shoved Jonas’s shoulder, who responded by kicking at Matteo’s feet to trip him. They fought the whole way to the cabin, culminating in Jonas shoving Matteo through the door so hard he fell to the ground with a shout and a laugh.

Matteo started looking around for the clipboard, and when he didn’t see it in the usual places he tilted his head to the side before ripping the blanket off his bed and shaking it out. When it didn’t clatter to the ground he started rustling around in his sheets, disrupting all of the pillows and the couple of extra blankets he had. He didn’t notice when a piece of paper fluttered to the floor and Jonas snatched it, because at the same moment he found his clipboard and held it over his head, turning to grin triumphantly at Jonas. 

“Dude, I fucking  _ knew it _ .”

“What?” he laughed, before all the color drained out of his face when he saw what Jonas was holding.

“It started at orientation, right? You were so fucking awkward, I should’ve known from the start!”

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He stuttered out, obvious panic in his voice and on his face.

“Dude,” Jonas said, walking over and placing a hand on Matteo’s shoulder, “you have a crush on David.”

Matteo shrugged his hand off and crossed his arms over his chest before asserting, “I do  _ not _ have a crush on  _ anyone _ .”

“Okay, then you’re in love with him or whatever,” Jonas said, rolling his eyes and glancing back at the drawing in his hand, “and by the looks of it he’s in love with you too.”

“ _ Nobody _ is in love with  _ anybody _ .” he said, ripping the drawing out of Jonas’s hand and throwing it back on his bed.

“Yeah, then why do you have a drawing from him under your fucking  _ pillow _ ?”

He panicked and quickly lied, “Um, that’s not from David.”

Jonas snorted before saying with a laugh, “Yeah, right. I’ve worked with him for a few years dude, I can recognize his handwriting.”

Matteo realized that there was no point in lying anymore, and he collapsed to his bed with a groan.

“Okay, yeah. I have a crush on David. But you can’t talk about it, I don’t want to get him in trouble.”

“And he likes you back, right?”

Matteo blushed and covered his face with his hands, hiding a smile and saying, “I don’t know, I think so?”

“Oh shit, the party! You two disappeared for a while, did you hook up?”

Matteo spluttered, turning to look at Jonas with a bright red face, spitting out, “What the fuck, dude? We were in the woods! We just smoked. And, uh…” he trailed off and saw Jonas’s grin get bigger.

“And?”

“We almost kissed. Some fucking animal tried to attack us so we had to run back, but if it hadn’t, well,” he sat up and sighed, smiling down at his hands, “I don’t know man. It doesn’t seem real.” 

“Luigi,  _ dude _ , that’s so cute. I can’t believe your dumb ass is the one that finally got David to change his ‘no dating at camp’ policy.”

“We’re not dating, oh my god, we almost kissed at one party. And, I mean, I guess he’s flirty. But I thought he was that way with everyone.”

“He’s never flirted with me.” Matteo rolled his eyes in Jonas’s direction, and dropped his head into his hands when Jonas came and sat next to him on the bed and clapped him on the shoulder.

“Seriously dude, whatever it is, I’m happy for you. David is fucking awesome and if you two end up getting married I call being the best man at your wedding.”

Matteo shoved him off the bed and Jonas landed on the ground with a laugh. 

“Please don’t tell Amira about this.”

“Of course not dude, that’s like signing your fucking death certificate. I’ll keep it to myself, won’t even tell Abdi or Carlos.”

Matteo let out a sigh and got up, grabbing his clipboard and nudging Jonas with his shoe.

“Thanks, dude. Let’s go back to my boys.”

*****

The next day, Matteo was sitting next to Amira on a bench outside, fanning himself with his clipboard. On Wednesdays they had a special instructor come and do archery with the kids, which meant Matteo got a break where he could sit and laugh as he watched Simon struggle with the bow that was way too big for him. 

The instructor, a man with shoulder length dark, curly hair, and nicely trimmed facial hair, went over to help, and Matteo chuckled when Simon swung around and wacked him with the bow. He noticed that Amira was staring intently in the same direction instead of watching her girls, and he nudged her. 

“Is that guy new? He wasn’t here last week.”

Amira didn’t reply until Matteo nudged her again and she turned to him, her cheeks darker than usual and her eyes wide.

“Oh, uh, that’s Mohammed. He was the assistant last summer, and I guess they made him a full instructor. He must have been busy last week or something, I don’t know, I didn’t even notice that he wasn’t there.”

Matteo smirked at her and hummed, and she smacked his shoulder.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No reason, Coach.”

She shoved him again, and they both started watching as a tiny kid ran up to Mohammed and tugged on his pant leg. He followed them over to where their bow was and when they shot a perfect bullseye, he cheered loudly.

“Woah, that kid is good.”

“Yeah, that’s, well. We call them Noot. They are… a character.”

Matteo watched as they literally climbed up Mohammed’s body and settled on his shoulders, and he didn’t even bat an eyelash, just continued walking around to check on the other kids. He turned his head and looked in their direction, and his eyes widened when he saw Amira. He removed Noot from his shoulders, who shrieked and wiggled violently in the air until they were back on the ground, and he started making his way over. Matteo grinned at Amira’s shocked look and then smiled up at Mohammed when he came closer.

“Hey, Amira,” His voice was smooth, and he turned to Matteo and stuck a hand out, saying quietly, “Hey, I’m Mohammed. Are you new here?”

“Yeah, it’s my first summer. I’m Matteo. Amira actually got me the job here, she’s great, isn’t she?” Matteo shook his hand with a smirk that only deepened when Mohammed’s mouth dropped open.

“Oh, uh, yeah. She’s- yeah. Great.” His eyes darted in Amira’s direction before he dropped Matteo’s hand and turned, walking quickly back to the campers. Matteo grunted and laughed when he felt a fist connecting with his arm.

“Man, what the  _ hell _ ?”

“I think he likes you.”

“Matteo, shut the fuck up.”

*****

The next day, Thursday, started off pretty boring. Even art with David was less exciting as he was trying to get the boys to catch up with the other groups that were farther ahead with their projects for that week, which seemed to be painting different abstract things like, “the sound the wind makes” or “what your favorite song feels like”. Matteo sat at one of the tables fiddling with some weird yellow and red feathered thing that David had, only looking up to watch as he walked around the boys, complimenting their work and offering suggestions. 

Occasionally when he looked up he would see David staring at him, and he’d get a quick grin before David would turn back to the boys, his face red. 

Matteo was extremely conflicted about the whole thing. His crush on David had only grown exponentially since he got the confirmation that David liked him back, and the feeling of being  _ wanted _ by someone so good-looking and charismatic was definitely helping his self-esteem. He couldn’t help but worry, though, about the potential of getting caught. He didn’t know what the consequence for breaking such a seemingly important camp rule would be and he fretted over David’s job more than his own. He knew that the camp was David’s entire life, and if he was the one to ruin that he would never forgive himself. He knew that it would be the end of anything between the two of them as well.

It was hard to think about that though when he was sat beside the lake, watching David in the water later that day. Now that he knew David was into him, he let himself stare a little more, his eyes squinting against the sun. He was next to Amira again, and she was shooting him looks as he watched David play with the kids, tossing them in the water or swinging them around.

“Why are you staring at David?”

Matteo’s head whipped to her, a blush forming on his face as he frowned and scoffed, “I’m not staring at him, god. I just… I don’t want the kids to get hurt, is all.”

“Yeah, sure.” Amira said in an almost  _ angry _ voice, but before Matteo could ask what was going on, she put her sunglasses on and turned her face back out to the water. 

He just shrugged a little and collapsed onto his back in the grass, closing his eyes tight against the sun. He only opened them again when he heard Amira giggle, and just as he looked at her he felt water showering down on him. He spluttered and wiped his eyes dry before glancing up at the shadow looming over him, and his mouth dropped open when he saw that it was David.

Shirtless David. Shirtless David with tattoos and a septum piercing. Shirtless David with tattoos and a piercing who  _ liked him back _ . He blushed when he remembered that and sat up, glaring up at David’s beaming face.

“You got me all wet, dude!”

“Oh shame,” David said, smiling brighter than the sun that was shining on his back, “guess you should just come in the water then.”

Matteo rolled his eyes but grabbed the hand that David offered him, taking off his shirt when he was on his feet.

“Fine, but just because you’re annoying.”

David grinned, and Matteo didn’t miss how his eyes trailed down to stare openly at Matteo’s bare chest. He blushed and shoved David towards the lake, and David laughed loudly before turning and walking, putting his hands in his pockets. Matteo let himself stare a little, and when David noticed he flexed his arms. Matteo shoved him again and David ran ahead, jumping into the water as the nearest lifeguard blew her whistle at him.

Matteo walked into the water, shivering at how cold it was. He stopped when it reached the waistband of his shorts, and he turned his head to look for David. When he didn’t see him he started wading towards where Simon was, who hadn’t noticed that he was in the water yet. He was planning on surprising him but before he could get there, he felt something grab at his ankle and he was falling back into the water with a shout. 

He popped back up and shook the water out of his eyes, hearing a loud, twinkling laugh to his left. He turned to gape at David who was standing next to Jules and Gabe, all three of them bent over laughing at Matteo’s face. He splashed them all, and the boys shrieked with glee as they got soaked. David just grinned at him for a moment before wading closer, and before Matteo could get away David was slipping one arm behind his knees and the other behind his back, hoisting him into his arms before throwing him a few feet away where he landed with a loud  _ splash _ .

Matteo didn’t let himself focus for too long on how easily David was able to pick him up, filing that away so he could instead get back on his feet, coughing from the water that he accidentally swallowed. He glared at David who just grinned back and winked before ducking down into the water, popping up again to throw Gabe a ridiculous distance away. 

Matteo shook his head before calling out, “Don’t hurt my campers, please!” and walking out of the water back to Amira. He collapsed to the ground with a laugh, his cheeks red, as he felt the warmth of the sun start drying him.

*****

The next day started slow, but picked up quickly after lunch when his boys joined a game that other campers had started playing, and Amira marched up to him and grabbed his arm with a curt, “We need to talk.”

His smile dropped as she dragged him to his cabin. When they got there he leaned against his bed as Amira paced around the room, and before he could question what she was doing she turned to him with a pointed glare.

“You’ve been acting really weird.”

He scoffed and rubbed his arm, responding with an equally annoyed, “No, I haven’t. I’m just having fun, Amira. I don’t know why you seem to think that’s such a big deal.”

He knew exactly why that was a big deal, he just didn’t know why she seemed so angry about it. She squinted at him and he stared back, challenging her to continue.

“I’m glad you’re having fun, Matteo, but,” she turned her head to the side and sighed before looking at him again and saying, “you’ve been particularly weird around David.”

Matteo’s eyes widened and he sat down on his bed, looking down at his lap as he muttered, “No, I haven’t. I’m just not used to being around… someone like him.”

He realized the implication of his words the second they left his mouth and before he could clarify his statement Amira held a hand up, silencing him.

“I don’t want you working here if you’re transphobic, Matteo. Nobody does. David is probably the most important employee here, and I’ll get you fired in a second if you have a problem with him.”

“Oh my  _ god _ .” He moaned out, rubbing a hand over his face. He didn’t know how to explain himself without exposing whatever was going on with him and David, but before he even got the chance Amira stomped over to him and stood less than a foot from him, a wicked glare on her face.

“I didn’t think you were like that, Matteo. I’m seriously reconsidering our friendship if that’s how you feel.”

“Oh my god, I’m not transphobic!” 

_ How the fuck did this become such a mess _ ? He thought to himself as Amira scowled at him.

“Then what did you mean by ‘someone like him’? Someone like  _ what _ , Matteo?”

“Someone cool! And nice, and funny, and charismatic, and- and attractive,” he didn’t look at Amira as he dropped his face into his hands, saying in a muffled voice, “someone I started crushing on literally the second I saw him.”

“Oh,” she said in a much softer voice, dropping onto the bed next to him and putting a gentle hand on his back, “oh, habibi. Why didn’t you just say that from the beginning?”

“You didn’t let me.”

“Yeah, well,” she said rubbing his back a bit, “I may be a little protective. We’ve had shitty counselors in the past, and I- I worry about him. But you like, him, that’s great! Does he know?”

Matteo sat up and turned to smile at her a little, blushing before saying, “Uh, yeah. He actually- on Friday, at the party, we almost kissed. He’d been flirting with me from the start but I thought he was just that way with everyone.”

Amira snorted and said, “Well, he  _ is _ a very flirty person. But it seemed different with you, Matteo. He seemed different. I was worried that he was going to finally start liking someone and you were going to be an asshole.”

  
“Amira, how could I not like him back? Have you  _ seen _ him?”

They giggled, and Matteo collapsed back onto the bed again and was surprised when Amira collapsed next to him, saying, “Yeah, you’d be an idiot not to. Every new counselor who’s into guys flirts with him. I’m shocked that it’s you that he’s finally falling for.”

“Hey, what’s wrong with me? Jonas said the same thing, am I really that undesirable?”

“You are to us, but that’s just because we actually know you.”

He nudged her shoulder and they both laughed again, before she turned her head and said in a sincere voice, “Really, Matteo. I’m happy for you both. You just better make it official before someone cool comes to sweep him off his feet.”

“Thanks, I guess.” Matteo rolled his eyes and sat up, not wanting to get into how complicated it would be to ‘make it official’. God, did he want to. He just didn’t want it to come at the expense of David’s career, his livelihood, really, and knew it would be selfish to be the one to initiate that conversation. 

Amira jumped off of the bed, yanking him up with her.

“Okay, now that we know that you aren’t a giant asshole and are in fact a loser with a huge crush, let’s go back to our campers.”

Matteo rolled his eyes but followed her out of the cabin before stopping a few feet away, and smacking his forehead with a, “Oh, crap I left my clipboard. I’ll meet you there.”

She jogged off and he turned back to the cabin, quickly finding his clipboard on the ground. His eyes shifted under his bed for a second and he caught a glimpse of something blue, and he reached under to grab it. When he pulled it out and saw what it was, he blushed and lifted a hand to cover his sudden smile.

It was another doodle. This one was drawn to obviously be the spot where they had almost kissed, and there was another turtle standing in front of a log and some trees. However, along with the turtle was a drawing of who Matteo knew could only be David, wearing a camp shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dark hair, his hands on his hips. He looked closer and giggled when he realized that both David and the turtle were drawn as  _ vampires. _ The turtle had a cape and a Dracula hairdo, and both figures had fangs poking out of their mouths.

He didn’t know how or when David got it into his cabin, and he didn’t care. He let himself stare at it for a moment before noticing a small arrow on the bottom prompting him to flip it over. He did, and his mouth dropped open when he read the words written there in David’s handwriting.

_ Meet me outside the art cabin at midnight. I promise I won’t suck your blood. _

He clasped the paper to his chest for a moment before pulling it back and letting himself stare at it for a minute longer. He shoved it under his pillow with the first drawing, making a mental note to find a better place to put them before taking a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down. He couldn’t stop smiling as he walked out of the cabin, the bees buzzing happily and his mind wondering what David had in store for him that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi friends SO sorry for a cliffhanger but i hope the next chapter is worth it!!!!! ive had the idea for the whole scary story part for SO LONG and im so glad i finally got to write it WOW!!!!!!
> 
> as always you can find me [here](https://shhhhyoursister.tumblr.com/) and you can find my amazing fantastic lovely wonderful editor yon [here](https://chlouais.tumblr.com/)!!!! yon had to tell me to insert commas in this chapter when they usually are telling me to get rid of 800000 so that was wild but thanks yon for making my fics good!!!!!!
> 
> be well friends <3


	7. bright are the stars that shine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“I don’t think we’re allowed to be doing this.” Matteo said after they had gotten a few feet in, and there was no sign of any path or recognizable marker. David just shrugged, pushing ahead through the bushes and low hanging tree branches in their way._
> 
> _“There are a lot of things we aren’t allowed to do, that’s life. Are you the type of person who listens?”_
> 
> _“Uh, generally, I think?” Matteo didn’t really know, had never thought too deeply about it. He knew that he was breaking the rules by leaving his campers alone, and maybe yeah, he hadn’t always been the most law abiding person in the world. But he usually went with the flow, and tried to cause the least trouble possible. David seemed to be changing that, though._
> 
> _“Well,” David said, and turned to grin at Matteo in the dark, “let yourself break the rules a bit. I do.” ___

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well friends,,,, here we fuckin go
> 
> title is from "and i love her" by the beatles but actually its from the gay cover called "and i love him": sung by benjamin gibbard cause this is a gay story folks
> 
> i hope yall enjoy cause i had SO much fun writing this chapter <3

Matteo stood completely still at the door to his cabin, his hand on the knob, in the same position he had been in for about 20 minutes. He was frozen almost, only hearing the soft snores of the boys, his own heart pounding in his ears, and the chirps of crickets outside. He couldn’t help it; he was  _ nervous.  _ The bees had come back with a vengeance, and he could feel them in all of his limbs.

The campfire earlier that night had been fun, but Matteo was distracted thinking about what David had planned. It didn’t help that Matteo couldn’t see him in the crowd, especially when the previous week he had been making sure to catch Matteo’s eyes under the flames. He had been hoping for  _ more _ of that and was disappointed that David wasn’t there.

He was a little  _ worried _ too. If David was as involved as everyone said, wouldn’t he be going to every campfire? Should someone check on him?  _ Had he changed his mind _ ? Matteo tried to beat that thought down but damn was it persistent, and by the time he was walking back to his cabin a few paces behind the boys, he wasn’t surprised that Jonas opted to walk with them. 

“You okay Luigi?” He said quietly, making sure the boys couldn’t hear. 

Matteo took a minute to decide if he wanted to tell Jonas or not, but in the end his nerves won out and he said in one quiet breath, “David asked me to come to the art cabin tonight at midnight.”

Matteo looked just in time to see Jonas’ eyes widen, and he rolled his eyes before Jonas even let out a strained, “Oh? Did he say why?”

“No, but he left me another drawing, and it was written on the back.”

“Bro, that’s the cutest fucking thing I’ve ever heard.”

Matteo’s eyes popped open and he whipped his head to look at the boys as he hissed, “Don’t curse in front of the boys!”

“They’re not even paying attention, dude.”

And Jonas was right. He could see Leo and Andy walking together about 15 feet ahead, their heads close together as they chatted quietly. He looked slightly passed them and saw Jules, Gabe, and Simon doing…  _ something _ that involved tapping trees with sticks and spinning in circles, and Matteo was too stressed to question anything other than their safety and their inability to hear himself and Jonas. 

“Why are you freaking out, dude? If  _ I _ was crushing on someone and they asked me to come to their cabin at  _ midnight _ ? On the back of a  _ drawing _ that  _ they drew _ ? I’d get there early.”

“I’m  _ nervous _ , okay?” Matteo said quickly, noticing his cabin in the distance, “this is- I never… this is the first time this kind of thing is happening to me, you know? I don’t know what to do.”

Jonas smiled and put his arm around Matteo’s shoulder, saying, “You go. Let yourself experience life, Luigi. I’m sure it’ll be fine,” he stopped for a moment and his smile turned darker, “and maybe you’ll get to kiss a boy.”

Matteo shoved Jonas away with a startled laugh, and whispered harshly, “Don’t  _ say _ that, dude, oh my god.”

The two were still laughing as they reached the cabin, and before departing Jonas reached out to ruffle Matteo’s hair. 

“Seriously, man. Good luck. I hope it all works out.”

Matteo smiled as he and Jonas watched the boys walk (roll, in Gabe’s case) into the cabin. He turned to Jonas and held out a fist and as Jonas bumped it with his own, he said, “Thanks, Jonas.”

Jonas grinned and pulled him in for a quick hug before shoving him towards the door and jogging off, calling over his shoulder, “Tell me everything tomorrow!”

Matteo ignored the urge to flip him off considering the other groups of kids he saw at the cabins around his and he followed behind his boys. They all got ready for bed quickly and were out before Matteo could even pretend to get into his bed and fall asleep. He didn’t bother, and ended up sitting on the edge of his bed shaking for about an hour. He paced after that, quietly, checking on the boys every few minutes to make sure they were still asleep.

And that brought him to the door. He still had about 10 minutes before he even had to leave, and he had started shivering from cold as well as the nerves about 15 minutes prior. He somehow managed to peel his fingers off of the knob so he could grab a sweatshirt to throw over his camp shirt. He sat on his bed again and ran a hand through hair before letting his elbows drop to his knees, his face falling into his hands right after. He stayed in that position for as long as he could and, before he knew it, he was finally pushing himself out the door, into the night.

He paused for a moment once he had left his cabin, in awe of the stars that had somehow filled the sky while he was inside. They were bright enough that the darkness of the night less intimidating, and he had to stop himself from tilting his head back as he walked. He did it a few times though, had just let himself gaze up at the sky, and he only stumbled once when his foot caught on a tree root.

He was doing that, sneaking a peek at the sky, so he didn’t notice when he started approaching the art cabin that David was sitting on the steps. 

“Enjoying the view?”

Matteo startled when he heard David’s voice, but broke into a smile when he saw the one on David’s face. He chuckled a little and blushed, dragging a hand through his hair.

“There aren’t stars like this where I live. It's ...” he couldn’t find the right word.

“Beautiful?” David suggested as he stood and hopped down the steps onto the dirt. He was still wearing his camp clothes too, but under the light of the shining stars he could’ve been wearing a garbage bag and he would’ve looked breathtaking. The glow of the stars were glinting in his eyes, and his smile was bright as he grinned at Matteo.

“Yeah, something like that,” Matteo said, mesmerized as David took another step closer, before shaking himself out of it and saying, “I found your drawing, and your note.”

“Yeah, I figured. You showing up here would be a pretty big coincidence otherwise.”

Matteo rolled his eyes and scoffed but flicked the sleeves of his hoodie over his hands so he could clench his fingers in the fabric. They were quiet for a minute, just staring at each other smiling, before Matteo couldn’t take David’s gentle gaze anymore and he asked, “So, is there any particular reason you told me to come here? Since you already ruled out sucking my blood?”

David grinned and reached a hand out, and Matteo stared at it for wide eyes until David laughed and said, “I want to show you something, come on. Trust me.”

And Matteo did, of course, so he just nodded and grabbed David’s hand. It was warm in his, smooth with a few callouses, just like Matteo remembered from the party a week ago. This time they weren’t sneaking anywhere though, and Matteo followed when David tugged him behind the art cabin and into a part of the woods that Matteo had been told was off limits.

“I don’t think we’re allowed to be doing this.” Matteo said after they had gotten a few feet in, and there was no sign of any path or recognizable marker. David just shrugged, pushing ahead through the bushes and low hanging tree branches in their way.

“There are a lot of things we aren’t allowed to do, that’s life. Are you the type of person who listens?”

“Uh, generally, I think?” Matteo didn’t really know, had never thought too deeply about it. He knew that he was breaking the rules by leaving his campers alone, and maybe yeah, he hadn’t always been the most law abiding person in the world. But he usually went with the flow, and tried to cause the least trouble possible. David seemed to be changing that, though. 

“Well,” David said, and turned to grin at Matteo in the dark, “let yourself break the rules a bit. I do.”

Matteo shut up quick after that, after David had winked again and he had bitten his lip to keep from laughing loudly in response. 

They walked for a long time, or it at least felt that way. And the dark forest surrounding him wasn’t particularly helping with Matteo’s nerves, but David’s hand in his was. They were quiet mostly, only occasionally breaking the silence to comment on a tree that looked like a hand coming out of the dirt, or the branch that Matteo  _ swore _ was a snake (after David laughed at him for jumping when he saw it).

At one point David had stopped by a large rock and let go of Matteo’s hand to leap on top of it, and Matteo had laughed while also begging him to come down before he fell. David jumped down and landed only a few inches in front of Matteo with a smirk, and Matteo stumbled back a step.

“You need to be careful, you’re going to hurt yourself. Or me.”

David had continued walking forward, slipping his hands into his pockets as he said, “I’m in complete control of my body at all times, I’m an athlete and an artist. My body is my tool. And I know how to use it.”

Matteo couldn’t tell if David had meant it the way it sounded, and he couldn’t see his face to confirm. He blushed anyway and tilted his face up to the stars again. He knew that staring up at the sky while walking across uneven ground and through thick bushes and grass was probably not the best idea, but staring ahead at David wouldn’t distract him any less. He tilted his head to the side when he noticed the full moon, surprised that he hadn’t seen it before.

“I guess we need to watch out for werewolves.” David turned to him with a confused smile and slowed down until Matteo was next to him again. Matteo pointed out the moon, and David laughed.

“It’s fine, I’m a vampire, remember? They wouldn’t dare mess with me.”

“ _ Twilight _ says you’re wrong.”

“Oh god,  _ Twilight _ ,” Matteo saw David roll his eyes, “those aren’t real vampires. The author is a mormon, those books don’t count.”

Matteo shrugged and looked at David out of the corners of his eyes and said, “Well, I only saw the movies, but I was always team Edward.”

“And Edward was the vampire, correct?”

“Yes David,” Matteo said with faux annoyance in his voice, “Edward was the vampire.”

“So, you like vampires?”

Matteo turned to look at David, who was staring forward with a smile on his face.

“They’re okay, I guess.” He said back, and impulsively nudged David’s shoulder with his own. He grinned when David nudged him back, and they got into a shoving match that only ended when Matteo almost fell over and David had to grab his arm to keep him upright. They were laughing so hard that they almost fell anyway. When they righted themselves they were standing facing each other, only a foot away. Matteo was about to crack another joke when he noticed David looking around the area they were in, his eyes squinting a little in the dark.

“Oh fuck, are we lost?” Matteo asked quickly, his pulse quickening. That would be the absolute  _ worst _ thing that could happen, and Matteo only calmed when David reached out to take his hand again, pulling him slightly to the right of the direction they had been walking in. 

“Not lost, just… remembering.”

It wasn’t the most confident statement, but Matteo knew that there was no way he could find his way back to civilization even if he wanted to leave David’s side, so he just hummed and followed.

They walked forward and David seemed to grow more confident, and Matteo started feeling better until they came to a spot where all Matteo could see in front of them was a huge pile of rocks, with no way around. David kept striding forward, and finally turned to Matteo as they approached and said casually, “Oh yeah, we need to climb a bit.”

He stopped and their hands disconnected as David continued walking, and Matteo watched as he scaled the pile of rocks. He wished it was light out so he could watch David’s muscles work and shift under his shirt, but all he could see in the dark was David climbing, and then his bright grin as he turned to stare down at Matteo from the top.

“You need a hand?”

Matteo scoffed and shook his head before taking a few steps forward and finding a rock that was stable enough to step on to. He shakily made his way up the rocks, and they were sturdier than he expected. It was easy for him to find places to put his hands and feet, and he managed to scale the rocks almost as fast as David, and he was only breathing a little harder. 

David smiled when he got to the top before jumping down to the other side and turning up to Matteo with a challenge on his face. Matteo stared down and realized  _ just _ how high up he was, and while it may have really only been about seven feet, it was intimidating in the dark with David leering up at him. 

“You can climb down if you want, you don’t have to jump.” David’s voice was sincere, and Matteo nodded before finding a good spot to climb down. He jumped the last few feet and David grabbed his hand again, making Matteo blush, as he was pulled forward once more. 

David’s pace quickened again, and Matteo could start to see something in the distance, something large and dark and a little foreboding. If he wasn’t being dragged behind David he would’ve turned back, but he trusted that David wasn’t about to lead him into the path of something dangerous. As they got closer he realized it was a cabin, and as they got even  _ closer _ he realized that the place was a total wreck.

There were visible holes in the roof and in the door, and the windows that Matteo could see were broken. There was chipping paint everywhere, but Matteo could still kind of make out a faded blue 20:55 on the door. It looked like there were some tree branches jutting out of the roof, and the steps up to the door barely looked stable enough to withstand some heavy wind. Matteo gaped at David as he walked up to them.

“You can’t be fucking serious.”

David turned to look at him with a smile and he cocked his head to the side.

“Dude I’m not kidding, this looks like something straight out of a horror movie. It’s either haunted or cursed. Probably both. There are almost definitely ghosts and demons in there.”

David laughed at that, and walked back to where Matteo had stopped. Matteo bit his lip as David approached and stopped a couple of feet in front of him.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m the only thing that dares come out here anymore.” David smiled as he said it, but Matteo rolled his eyes.

“You’re not a  _ thing _ , you’re a camp counselor with too much energy and apparently a need to explore.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot, I’m a cool muscular sports counselor.”

Matteo opened his mouth to make a joke and closed it just quick, stopping himself. It was obvious what was going on between them, there was no  _ way _ that David would do all of this if he didn’t have some kind of motive. Matteo knew why he was there, so there was no need to joke anymore.

“Yeah,” he said quietly, looking down at his feet and then back up at David through is eyelashes, “you are.” 

David smirked and tilted his head in the direction of the cabin before spinning on his feet and walking towards the stairs. He climbed up, and Matteo followed behind when they didn’t collapse under his weight. He felt a chill go through is body as the door creaked open, and he followed David inside.

It wasn’t as scary on the inside. The walls, while chipped in some places, were painted a nice, light blue color. Matteo briefly lamented the lack of a paint job in his own cabin before looking around more. There were two beds in the room on opposite walls, with small dressers beneath them. There was a bookshelf that looked surprisingly clean, and a table that looked the same. In fact, everything looked more clean than Matteo would have expected. There were some leaves and dirt on the ground due to all the holes and broken windows, and there was a large hole in the ground that Matteo was eyeing warily, but there was no dust, the table and chairs looked solid and hardly worn, and there was even a blanket thrown over one of them. 

  
“Wow,” Matteo said reverently, and looked up to see David staring at him. He seemed pleased with Matteo’s reaction, and Matteo smiled and glanced down at the ground.

“I found this place when I was a kid,” David started, as Matteo started wandering around the cabin, “I asked Jacob about it and he said they used to send campers here when they didn’t get along.”

“That isn’t weird at all,” Matteo deadpanned, and David laughed.

“It was a long time ago, I guess that kind of thing was more normal? But I started coming here a lot, whenever I could sneak away from my counselors. It was cool to have my own place, you know? You’re…” he trailed off, and Matteo turned to look at him. David was biting his lip and looking off to the side.

“I’m what?”

David paused for a moment before looking Matteo in the eyes and saying, “You’re the first person I’ve ever brought here.”

“Oh,” Matteo said quietly, and David stared at him with his eyes shining, “well, it’s an honor. It’s a special place.”

David smiled, and Matteo smiled back before he continued his meandering around the room. He noticed that there was a clothesline strung across the room, and he dragged his hand along it, spacing out a little. He looked up and his eyes managed to catch a hole in the ceiling, and he could see that stars through it. He stared as he walked, his hand still on the clothesline, and he started thinking again about how much  _ nicer _ the sky was here. 

He was shaken out of his thoughts when he suddenly felt hands grabbing onto his shoulder, and heard a rushed, “Careful, there’s a hole over here.”

He stopped in his tracks and looked down to see the hole he noticed before at his feet, and the fear of whatever was lurking in the dark depths made him stumble back until he bumped into something. He turned and saw David, no more than five inches in front of him, the corners of his lips tilted up. David took a step towards him and Matteo stiffened, but David just walked around him and stood in front of the hole. 

“I’ve always wondered what’s down there.” David said, and before Matteo knew it he was dangling his foot over the edge. Matteo panicked and grabbed his shoulders and yanked him back, just as David had done to him. Except David was laughing this time, and Matteo was glaring.

“Don’t fucking do that, you’re going to fall in and then I’m gonna have to find my way back to the camp alone, so neither of our bodies will ever be found.”

“I wouldn’t fall in, I have great balance.” David turned to face Matteo, and Matteo almost took a step back before planting his feet. 

They were just as close as before, and Matteo gulped. Once he processed what David said, he, for some unknown reason, responded, “Oh. I do too.”

David lifted an eyebrow and asked incredulously, “Really?”

“Really, I do,” and then without thinking he continued, “I bet I can stand on one foot longer than you.”

David grinned wide, and it was so pretty up close that Matteo had to close his eyes for a moment so he could hear what David was saying.

“I accept that challenge.”

They counted down and then each lifted a foot off the ground, David steady and Matteo swaying a bit. Matteo’s eyes were locked on David’s, so he noticed the split second those dark eyes darted down to his mouth, before David was leaning in and pressing their lips together softly. 

Matteo didn’t have time to revel in it as he slammed his foot back onto the ground, his hand coming up to grab for David’s shoulder as their mouths separated. He stumbled despite his forehead being pressed against David’s, and he felt a gentle hand grab onto his arm to steady him.

“I won.” David said giddily, and Matteo huffed out a breath as David twisted away, laughing brightly. His eyes followed David as he turned and took a few steps away before turning back.

“That wasn’t fair.” Matteo’s voice came out breathier than he was expecting and he closed his mouth as David tilted his head to the side.

“You know what ? You’re right,” he said quietly, taking a step forward, “rematch?”

Matteo just nodded, and took a step forward as David lifted his leg off the ground. He took another step forward until they were as close as before, and he lifted his foot as David watched him. He felt something building in him as he stared at David’s face, looked into his eyes and then down to his lips and then at the whole thing again because the red of his cheeks was just such a nice shade of red, and Matteo wanted to kiss him again. He  _ really _ wanted to kiss him again. 

So he did.

He grabbed David by the back of the head and pulled him in for a kiss, a more passionate one than before and David kissed him back enthusiastically, bringing a hand up that he gently placed on Matteo’s cheek, his other moving to settle on his hip. Matteo’s body was buzzing and he couldn’t tell if it was the bees or the blood rushing through his veins or little sparks of electricity lighting up his insides, but he loved the feeling, whatever it was.

David pulled away so he could tilt his head the other way and Matteo followed his lead, sighing when their mouths connected again. He brought his own hands up to cup David’s face, and he let his thumbs stroke over the flushed skin as David’s lips moved gently against his. They pulled back at the same time to breath and their foreheads pressed together again. 

“I’ve been wanting to do that since orientation.” David breathed out, and Matteo let out an airy giggle before he could stop himself, closing his eyes because keeping them open was just a little too much for him at that moment. 

“So why didn’t you?”

“You looked scared shitless.” David was smirking when Matteo opened his eyes again, and he rolled them as David chuckled. 

“That was my ‘wow it’s the man of my dreams’ face.”

“I’m the man of your dreams?” David’s smile took on a different quality, something soft that made Matteo’s insides melt. 

“It’s just a saying.” He tried to retract, worrying that he had said too much too fast. 

David tilted his head and kissed him gently again, and when Matteo gasped David whispered, “Say it again.”

“I’m not going to say it again.” Matteo grinned despite himself, but bit his lip when David looked at him with intense eyes. 

“Say it again.”

  
“You’re the man of my dreams.”

David smiled and drew him in for a kiss again, and another after that. Matteo was smiling into them and couldn’t really seem to stop,

They shared a few more kisses before David relented and reminded Matteo that they needed to get back to the camp. Despite Matteo’s best whining David won, out, and Matteo blushed when David grabbed his hand again to lead him out the door and back to camp. 

They were slower on the way back, stopping every now and then to kiss, or joke, or shove the other into a tree. Matteo felt lighter than he had in weeks,  _ months _ even, despite his racing thoughts and heartbeat. He knew this was something big, something important, felt it in his bones in a way he couldn’t explain. He could tell that David felt it too, it was evident in the tender touches even when they were pushing and shoving. 

After they climbed over the rocks again, Matteo accepting the hand that David offered once he got winded near the top, David stopped. Matteo tilted his head when David settled back against the rocks, his face turned up to the stars. The moon was in the perfect position to bathe David in a pale light, and Matteo was almost breathless as he stared at him. David saw that he hadn’t moved and patted the space next to him, and Matteo leaned back against the spot, feeling surprisingly comfortable.

David started pointing out different stars to him, his smooth voice filling Matteo’s head until it was the only thing he could hear, blocking out the chirping and buzzing and hissing of the various bugs around them. As David spoke Matteo hummed and leaned his head to the side until it was almost resting on David’s shoulder, and he waited until he felt David’s head tip onto his to let it drop fully. He zoned out a little, his eyelids drooping as David pointed and gestured and told him the story behind some name of a star, but he perked up when his eyes caught something.

“Hey, is that a shooting star?” He extended his hand and pointed in the direction of something that was flickering and moving across the sky.

“No, I think that’s an airplane.”

Matteo hummed before nuzzling more into David’s side and saying, “No, it’s a shooting star.

“Okay,” David laughed softly, and Matteo felt an arm wrap around his waist, “it’s a star. Does that mean we get to make a wish?”

Matteo nodded sagely and responded, “Yeah, we have to. It’s the law.” 

“What if I told you that my wish already came true?” 

Matteo turned his face up to see David smiling down at him and he blushed as their eyes met, but he shoved him a little too.

“I’d say that you’re a sap and that you can probably think of another wish, idiot.”

David laughed and squeezed Matteo closer before tilting his head and pursing his lips. After a moment, his face lit up, and he said, “Okay, I got one.”

They both closed their eyes and silently made their wishes, before kissing one more time and dragging themselves away from the rocks. Matteo was having an amazing time, probably the best night of his life, but he knew that he needed to sleep soon if he wanted to be functional at all. 

They made their way back to the camp, holding hands and only stopping occasionally to kiss more. Matteo yawned through what was meant to be their last one, as they could see the art cabin through the trees, so he stopped David with the hand he was holding and tugged him in for one more.

David walked him all the way back to his cabin, even though they had dropped their connected hands once breaking through the trees like an unspoken agreement. They didn’t stop touching though, and kept knocking into each other and tugging on each other’s shirts and hair and anything just to keep the contact. Matteo frowned a little as they reached his cabin, marking the end of their night.

“Well,” David said, facing Matteo in front of his cabin, “thank you for coming with me tonight.”

“Thank you for showing me somewhere that’s important to you, even if we almost died along the way,” Matteo joked, and when David laughed a little Matteo blushed before continuing, “and thank you for… everything else.”

David’s smile softened and he took a step closer, bringing a hand up to rest gently on Matteo’s arm. He sighed and looked around quickly before sliding his hand down to curl around Matteo’s.

“You don’t need to thank me for that. I was doing it for my benefit just as much as yours,” he grinned, and then it dropped a little as he warily said, “I just… we just can’t really--”

“I know,” Matteo cut him off when David started stuttering, “I won’t say anything. I know.”

David smiled and squeezed Matteo’s hand, and Matteo let out a loud yawn. He giggled through it when David laughed and smiled sheepishly and apologized.

“No, it’s late. You should go to bed. We should both go to bed. I just…” and David stopped himself again, glancing around the area before tugging Matteo by the hand into one last kiss. It was short, but it was exactly what they both needed.

“Okay, now I’m going to leave. Have a good night, Matteo. Sleep well.” David squeezed his hand again.

“You too,” Matteo said, squeezing back and smiling, “good night, David.”

David smiled before taking a few steps backwards, still staring at Matteo. He only turned once he was far enough away that Matteo couldn’t make out his face in the dark, and he turned too, climbing the steps into his cabin on shaky legs.

He desperately wished that there weren’t sleeping children in the room so he could shove his face in his pillow and scream like a girl in a high school romance flick, but he settled for spinning once around the room and collapsing onto his bed with a smile on his face. He got ready for bed quickly and quietly, making sure not to wake the boys, and he climbed into bed and snuggled under his blankets.

He flipped onto his stomach after huffing out a disbelieving breath. He moved his arm to shove it under his pillow, hoping his usual sleeping position would make it easier to fall asleep, and he had to bite his lip to keep from giggling out loud when his hand brushed one of the drawings from David. He grabbed it so he could look at it, at the pencil sketch of David as a vampire, and he hugged the drawing to his chest for a short, self indulgent moment before shoving it back under his pillow. 

He barely slept the whole night, but when his eyes opened the next morning, he was still smiling. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHELP!!!!!!!!!!!! what more is there for me to say!!!!!!!!! 
> 
> yall can follow me/send me prompts [here](https://shhhhyoursister.tumblr.com/) i love you all SO much you guys are so nice and just so great wow pls come talk to me i love it so much
> 
> you can follow yon [here](https://chlouais.tumblr.com/) everyone go thank yon for being the fucking BEST and editing all the random shit i throw at them??? seriously yon i love you SO much?????
> 
> be well friends!!!! oh and go check out the other au im suddenly writing skldhskdfhg

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me [here](https://shhhhyoursister.tumblr.com/) on tumblr if you want to follow me or send me prompts or just say hi!!!!
> 
> huge shoutout to yon my amazing fantastic perfect editor (who you can find [ here](https://chlouais.tumblr.com/)) for betaing this and just for being rad!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> be well yall!!!!!! <3


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